


Friends and Inheritances

by BrisingrElda



Category: Naruto
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Ninja world, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Swearing, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:57:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7446811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrisingrElda/pseuds/BrisingrElda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a remake of my first ever story, Destined For Each Other. Kiba helps Naruto out of a tough situation, they become friends, and things progress from there. Hope you guys like this newish story. Slightly AUish, as I will be changing some things from the actual manga. The main pairing is Kiba/Naruto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Will You Be My Friend?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rework of my first story, as the summary said. I haven't written anything in a few years, so I hope that this turns out well. At least, better than the first version. Let me know what you think! It gives me motivation to continue. :-)

"Hey fag, where are your parents? Oh, that's right, they're dead. They're probably happy, they didn't have to see how much of a loser their kid became." A large, brutish looking 15-year old said with a sneer to the smaller blond kid wearing a black t-shirt and orange shorts with the whisker scars. Unbeknownst to either of them, the conversation was overheard by a wild-looking boy of 12 in an oversized gray hoodie and black shorts on with traditional tribal tattoos on his face, who didn't like the tone of the larger boy one bit.

 _'No one has the right to talk to another person like that. Who does this guy think he is?'_ The tattooed boy thought. He rounded the corner to the dark alley where the two were having their confrontation. The blonde kid was valiantly fighting tears, but the words of the older kid were haunting, and he couldn't help but feel that they might be even a bit true. After all, he had never known his parents.

The large kid was laughing nastily at the distraught state of the whiskered blond. "Aww, is the little baby going to cry? Who's going to hear you? You have no mommy or daddy. No one wants you. Why don't you just disappear and do all of us a favor?" The brute said, and with that sentence, the blond boy finally broke. He was sobbing quietly, and something within the tattooed boy snapped as well.

Before he was even aware of what he was doing, the tattooed boy was running towards the larger kid who was laughing so much that he didn't even notice anything until the fist hit him directly in the nose. There was a sickening crunch, and blood started pouring out of his nose, and he fell to the ground. His laughter suddenly turned into a whimper of pain, and his frightened eyes looked up at the 12-year-old boy who was suddenly looming over him.

"What gives you the right to talk to someone like that? I would say to another human being, but calling you a human would be an insult to the rest of us. Get out of here before I start kicking you like the rabid animal that you are." The tattooed boy growled menacingly. The brute quickly backed away, giving the tattooed boy a wide space and exited the alley. The blond boy collapsed to his knees in his misery, trying his damndest to pull himself together.

It wasn't until the tattooed boy pulled him to his feet that the whiskered boy noticed that things had changed. He immediately started to try to fight back against what he assumed was another and more vicious threat.

Upon seeing the reaction, the tattooed boy let go of him and backed away, holding his hands up, one of them throbbing silently from hitting the other kid.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I would ask if you are okay, but I think that's a stupid question at this point. Can I ask your name?" The tattooed boy said in the voice that he would use to calm the frightened animals that he helps look after. The blond boy didn't answer for a few moments, but the tattooed boy was patient.

"...I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said, and the tattooed boy flashed a quick grin, showing enlarged canine teeth.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba. It's nice to meet you Naruto. I'm sorry we had to meet like this, though..." Kiba said, scratching the back of his head. Naruto was quiet again for a few moments.

"Why did you hit that kid? Why would you bother for someone like me?" Naruto asked, and his voice was curiously devoid of any emotion. Kiba frowned at that.

"Because he had no right to talk to you like that. Just because you may not have any parents does not make you less than human. He was a jerk and got what he deserved." Kiba said, and Naruto smiled slightly. Kiba noticed his bright blue eyes for the first time, and how they lit up with his smile.

In that moment, Kiba decided that he was going to be there for Naruto. He wasn't going to let anyone take the light out of his eyes like that again if he could help it.

"Hey, I know we just met, but I think you're pretty cool. Would you like to be my friend?" Kiba asked, extending his hand. Naruto looked at his hand, then back up at Kiba. Kiba wasn't surprised to see suspicious eyes looking at him.

"I get you wanting to help someone else out, but you don't have to be my friend out of pity." Naruto said, and turned his back on Kiba. He started walking out of the alleyway, but Kiba caught up to him and stopped right in front of him, blocking his way. Kiba was unhappy to see more tears threatening to fall from those expressive blue eyes. Before he knew it, his arms were around the other boy, hugging him.

Naruto was shocked, and almost started to fight it, but a piece inside of him, a piece that he had tried to bury, was yearning for the human touch and connection. Unsure of himself, and terrified beyond words that he was about to break something incredibly fragile, Naruto raised his arms and wrapped them around Kiba in return. Kiba was ecstatic that he wasn't being pushed away.

The two boys stayed in their embrace for a few moments more before pulling away.

"It isn't out of pity. I want to be your friend. Please let me." Kiba begged, feeling slightly embarrassed at begging, but he didn't really care. Naruto, on the other hand, was warring with himself. He had never really had another friend, and here was another boy who was begging to be his friend, had even punched another boy who was bullying him. But was it only a trick to get close to him, so that he could hurt him later?

"...Okay. I'll be your friend." Naruto said quietly, and Kiba grinned at Naruto, and Naruto found himself smiling at Kiba.

Over the next few months, the two became inseparable. Kiba quickly became aware of how little Naruto had in the way of material possessions. He had been left a little apartment in the most run-down side of the village. He barely had enough money to eat on and was constantly tormented by everyone around him. Kiba just couldn't understand it. He noticed that it wasn't only the other kids who treated Naruto like trash, but also most of the adults. It infuriated Kiba.

It wasn't until half a year later that Naruto felt that he trusted Kiba enough to tell him why everyone else hated him.

The two had been walking around the village, avoiding the populated areas, and Kiba had noticed that Naruto looked especially sad and tense that night. Normally, Kiba wouldn't try to pry, preferring Naruto to tell him when he was ready, but as the night went on, he didn't seem to get any better. Kiba finally broke down.

"Hey Naruto, you seem down today? What's up?" Kiba asked quietly, making Naruto, who had been consumed with his own thoughts, jump slightly.

"There's been something that I've wanted to tell you for awhile now, but I... I'm so scared that I will lose my only friend.." Naruto said in a wretched and broken voice.

"I don't care what it is you have to say to me, you won't lose me. You and I are best friends!" Kiba said, but that seemed to make Naruto even sadder.

"Maybe not anymore. Before I say anything, I want to thank you for being there for me, and always standing by my side when it would have been easier for you to give in to the hate that everyone else shows me. Now... I have a secret. Everyone in the village knows about the attack that happened 12 years ago, and the adults remember the terror of the Kyuubi. Everyone thinks that the Kyuubi disappeared and, in a way, I guess he did, but he is still here in the village. The Fourth Hokage used a Forbidden Jutsu to seal the Kyuubi into a newborn child... Into me. The adults know this and hate me because of it, and the kids just follow suit." Naruto said in his detached and emotionless voice that Kiba hated.

For a few minutes, the two continued to walk around, Kiba in his thoughts, and Naruto watching Kiba carefully, waiting for his cue to run. When Kiba looked him square in the eyes, stopping them both in their tracks, Naruto almost left, but he wanted to hear what Kiba had to say.

"I have been with you and gotten to know you for the past six months. You are not the Kyuubi, you are Naruto. He may be sealed inside of you, but that does not mean he IS you! I can't believe that everyone is so blind that they can't see what is right in front of their face! This is why everyone treats you like you don't deserve to live?! That is despicable!" Kiba said explosively, and Naruto jumped back in fright, thinking that Kiba was going to attack him after all, until the words sunk in.

"You... you don't hate me?" Naruto asked quietly, and Kiba saw the 12-year-old kid that Naruto really was shine through for the first time. Something inside of Kiba spoke up, and Kiba grabbed Naruto and crushed him in a giant hug, crying slightly.

"Of course I don't hate you... I could never hate you Naruto. You mean too much to me. I just can't believe that you have had this bad of a life for something so stupid..." Kiba said, and Naruto wrapped his arms around Kiba, hugging him back and burying his face in his neck to hide his own tears.


	2. Inheritance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the second chapter, and I hope that you like it. I also hope that I don't put you off too much with the changes from the anime/manga.

Naruto took one look at his apartment and knew that he was going to have to clean it up. Tomorrow was July 7th, Kiba's 13th birthday, and Naruto had asked Kiba to come to his apartment some time later in the day after he had spent most of the day with his family. Naruto was planning on getting Kiba a great birthday present and had been saving every last penny that he could. Now the only thing left was to actually buy the gifts, but first things first. He spent two and a half hours cleaning his apartment, getting his dirty laundry gathered into one pile in the corner of his room and washing the dirty dishes that he had.

After that, he went out to get his shopping done. He knew exactly where it was that he wanted to go and he wasted no time in getting there and picking up what he thought that Kiba would like. Thankfully, he didn't have to have a confrontation with the manager of the store. He was in and out very fast. He was also happy that he didn't feel that he had been ripped off for what he had gotten.

Naruto smiled, knowing that Kiba was going to be ecstatic over his present. He made a quick stop at the grocery market before heading back home, picking up some supplies to cook Kiba a nice dinner.

Naruto was just getting the finishing touches ready for Kiba to come over when he heard a knock at the door. A smile graced his face and he rushed to the door. He threw it open and, seeing Kiba on his doorstep, he threw his arms around him in a hug.

"Happy Birthday, Kiba!" Naruto sang, and Kiba chuckled, turning slightly red.

"Thanks, Naruto. Something smells good. What's going on?" Kiba asked, and it was Naruto's turn to blush.

"Well, it is your birthday, silly, so I made your favorite! BBQ steak with rice and yakisoba noodles with miso broth!" naruto exclaimed, and Kiba smiled fondly at Naruto.

"Steak isn't cheap. You shouldn't have spent that kind of money on me!" Kiba said, though not unkindly. He was touched that Naruto would do something like that for him, especially knowing the blond's situation.

"Nonsense, only the best for my Kiba!" Naruto exclaimed and grabbed Kiba's arm, pulling him into the house. Kiba laughed and allowed himself to be led to the living room. On the coffee table were two plates of steaming rice and steak, a pot of miso broth in the center of the table and next to that was two bowls of yakisoba noodles and a small pot of barbeque sauce for the steak.

After the two were done eating, they both just sat there contentedly, talking about nothing in particular. After a bit of mindless chatter, Naruto stood up, and Kiba raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"Dinner wasn't your only gift, ya know." Naruto said mischievously, and he winked, walking towards his bedroom.

"I'll bring it out to you! Stay there and close your eyes!" Naruto threw over his shoulder, and Kiba chuckled again but complied. He didn't have to wait long until he heard Naruto return.

"Okay, hold out your hands, and no peeking." Naruto said, and Kiba held out his hands. Naruto placed what he was holding in Kiba's open hands. Kiba felt something soft and... warm in his hands. When it started moving, Kiba gasped and opened his eyes.

In his hands was a beautiful white puppy with brown ears and a wagging tail looking at him. Kiba smiled in astonishment and looked at Naruto, who looked nervous.

"I know you're a dog person, but I also know that because we're ninja, you might want a companion with you when you go on missions. He isn't an ordinary puppy. He's bred to be a fighting dog." Naruto said, and Kiba set the puppy down and gave Naruto a big bear hug.

"He's perfect! Thank you so much! What's his name?" Kiba asked excitedly, and the puppy cocked its head at Kiba, almost like he was waiting for the response as well.

"I'm glad you like him. He doesn't have a name yet. I wanted you to be the one to name him." Naruto said, relieved that his gift had been received well.

" I think I'm going to call him... Akamaru. You okay with that Akamaru?" Kiba asked the puppy, and he barked and wagged his tail, jumping into Kiba's arms and licking his face.

"I think he likes it!" Naruto said, laughing. Akamaru barked again.

The two boys spent a little more time together before Kiba knew that he had to get back home before he got in trouble with his mom. Naruto bade him farewell and to have a great rest of his night, and the two parted. Naruto went to bed after cleaning up, thinking that he wanted to see Kiba be that happy more often. He fell asleep thinking that he felt the happiest he had ever felt before, knowing that it was because of him that Kiba felt that way.

When Kiba got back to the Inuzuka compound, another nindog came out to greet him. He recognized the scarred and rather terrifying visage of Kuromaru, his mother's faithful companion. He felt the gaze of Kuromaru all the way up to the house, and Akamaru hunkered down against Kiba, shivering softly and whimpering. Kiba stroked the top of his head and tried his best to calm down the small puppy. Kuromaru keened at Akamaru, and Akamaru stiffened slightly before relaxing completely.

Inside of the house, he saw his mom, Inuzuka Tsume, sitting on one of the couches in the living room. She had apparently been waiting for him. She took one look at Kiba, and more importantly, the puppy in his arms, and raised her eyebrow.

"Who was kind enough to give you a nindog for your birthday Kiba?" She asked bluntly, though not unkindly.

"My best friend. He made me dinner and gave me this puppy." Kiba said evasively, hoping that Tsume wouldn't try to pry. However, luck was not on his side.

He hadn't let his family know that he was spending time with Naruto. It wasn't because he was embarrassed with spending time with him or anything. It was because he was afraid that his mom was going to be like the rest of the villagers, and hate Naruto. He was afraid that she would forbid Kiba from seeing Naruto again.

"And who is this friend of yours?" She asked. Kiba thought about lying to her, but he knew that she wouldn't be fooled by it. He didn't know how, but she always knew when he was lying, no matter how well he thought that he hid it.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." Kiba said, and his mother raised both of her eyebrows in surprise.

"Him, huh? Is he the one who you've been spending so much time with lately?" She asked in a completely emotionless voice, and it pissed Kiba off.

"Yes, he is. Don't tell me that you are like the others. Just because he has the Kyuubi sealed in him doesn't make him a monster! He is one of the nicest people that I have ever met!" Kiba said, and realized that he was almost shouting. When he realized this, his face grew pale. He knew from previous experience that he wasn't going to escape unscathed from talking to his mom in such a disrespectful way.

Tsume was quiet for a few minutes, and Kiba stewed in his dread. He was surprised when Tsume laughed, though.

"I'll forgive you for yelling at me this once, but only because you're standing up for someone else. And to answer your question, I know that having the Kyuubi sealed inside of him hasn't changed him. If anything, it's made him stronger as a human being, as well as a ninja. I am surprised that he told you, though." Tsume said, and Kiba relaxed muscles that he didn't even realize were tense.

"When he told me, he was terrified. He thought he was going to lose me as a friend. He said that I was his only friend, and that he didn't want to screw it up, but that I had a right to know." Kiba said, and Tsume nodded. At that moment, Akamaru yipped, and Tsume looked at him.

"So you're Akamaru then? Well, Kiba here can be scatterbrained and a doofus sometimes, but he's a good kid. Help me take care of him, yeah?" She said, and it was Kiba's turn to raise his eyebrows at her.

"I don't believe that I ever told you his name..." He said, and was confused when Tsume grinned.

"Well, we are part dog after all. Didn't you know that I spoke dog?" She asked mischievously. Kiba had heard her say that before, but he always thought that she had been kidding. He still believed that, but he couldn't figure out how she had learned Akamaru's name.

Tsume got up, placed her left hand on top of Kiba's head, and made several hand signs that were too fast for Kiba to comprehend. He could feel her chakra pouring into him, and he felt an integral part of him wake up, letting him see through new eyes. All of a sudden, he was bombarded with a sense of smell far greater than he had before. He could smell the spicy curry that his mom had eaten for breakfast on her breath, even though he knew that she had brushed her teeth afterward. He could hear much better as well, to the point where he could hear his mom's heartbeat and the faster heartbeat of Akamaru.

There were so many new sensations that he was overwhelmed, and he fell in a heap on the floor painfully. Akamaru managed to jump out of Kiba's limp arms in time to not get crushed and licked Kiba's hand.

Kiba was incapacitated for what felt like an eternity to him, though in reality, it was only about five minutes.

"What did you do to me?" Kiba asked his mother when he could focus on the outside world, and she smiled down at him kindly.

"I gave you your inheritance. Now that you have your own nindog, you're ready to learn the secrets of the Inuzuka clan. Starting with the fact that when I say we are part dogs, I don't mean figuratively. We have the instincts of the canines, and we also have the ability to speak to them. It is a closely guarded secret, and that is the reason that we don't tell the younger members of the clan. Nindogs are valuable information gatherers." Tsume said. Kiba felt like he had been living only half a life before like he wasn't living up to his full potential.

"You have a lot to learn, but more importantly, you need to say hello to your puppy, officially." Tsume said, and Kiba looked at Akamaru who was sitting at Tsume's feet.

'Hello, Kiba. It's nice to meet you.' Akamaru barked and Kiba gasped in surprise, backing up a bit in fear.

"H-hi Akamaru..." Kiba said, and Akamaru slowly stood up and came over to Kiba. He licked his hand and looked Kiba in the eyes.

'Looks like we are going to be partners from now on. Take good care of me, okay?' Akamaru said, and Kiba smiled. He knew instinctively that there was nothing to be afraid of. If anything, the only reason he was afraid in the first place was because it felt so natural to be talking to Akamaru.

"Likewise buddy. I'll be counting on you!" Akamaru barked happily at that.

'How does it feel to be whole, pup?' Kuromaru asked, and the fact that he could now talk to Kiba did nothing to make him less intimidating.

"It feels... strange. Like I lived a half-lie. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kiba asked his mom, and she raised an eyebrow again.

"I thought that I explained that already. The fact that we can communicate with canines is a closely guarded secret, and that makes them very valuable information gatherers. How many people are going to talk about their plans when they know that an intelligent animal capable of speaking with certain people is in the room with them? Most people ignore dogs, and we use that to our advantage. Now imagine if we told all of the children in the clan. How long do you think it would take for one of them to blab to one of their friends? Then the secret would be out, and we would lose value as a clan." Tsume said, and Kiba had to agree that it was sound logic.

"Now, go and get some sleep! Tomorrow, I start training you in the arts of the Inuzuka clan." Tsume said, and Kiba cringed. He knew he was in for one helluva grueling experience. Before he left the room, he had a thought and turned back to his mom.

"Hey, you aren't upset that I'm hanging out with Naruto, right?" Kiba asked uncertainly.

"No. Just keep yourself safe. I gotta say that he has good taste with puppies, though. I know his situation too, so he must have spent everything that he had on Akamaru. Nindogs are not cheap, especially ones as well-bred as Akamaru is." Tsume said, and Kiba could feel color rising on his cheeks, though he had no idea why.

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome, and he cares about me a lot. Just like I care about him." Kiba said, and turned his back to go to bed, missing how Tsume frowned in contemplation. She decided not to dwell on it any further and decided to go to bed herself.


	3. Half of a Whole

When Naruto opened his eyes, he was alarmed. He was no longer in his room. Instead, he was in a corridor that looked like it had seen better years. It was damp and, in places, it even had small puddles of water. He also realized that he was unbound, so if he had been kidnapped, his captors obviously thought that there was no way that he was going to be able to get out, which was not a reassuring thought for him.

Naruto stayed where he was for about fifteen minutes, just trying to see if something would happen. When nothing noticeable changed, he cautiously made his way down the corridor. It was barely illuminated, and for the life of him, Naruto couldn't find the source of the illumination.

As he was making his way down the corridor, he could faintly make out what sounded like the breathing of something very large. It made his pulse quicken and he subconsciously shivered in slight fear. He had no idea what was going on, and it terrified him. However, upon seeing no alternative, Naruto forged ahead.

As Naruto was rounding a bend in the hallway, he was struck with a flash of vertigo so severe that he clenched his eyes shut. Just as sudden as the vertigo appeared, it was gone again. When Naruto opened his eyes again, he was astonished to see that there was what looked like a cage in a massive chamber. What was odd about it though, was the size. It extended past his sight both up and to either side.

What caught his attention next was the sound of the loud breathing. It was much louder than before. He also became aware of the temperature. Even though it was still very damp, the temperature in the room that he was in was almost unbearably hot.

Upon further inspection of the cage, Naruto saw a circle of metal near the center and about 25 feet off of the ground. Naruto assumed that it was where the key to the gate was. Naruto, however, didn't need to open the gate to get in. The gaps in the bars of the cage were easily large enough for him to slip past.

Naruto started to edge towards the nearest gap in the bars and, with every step forward, it got warmer. When Naruto finally it through the gap, it was stifling and Naruto was having a hard time breathing.

All of a sudden, one giant red eye with a slit of a pupil opened directly in front of Naruto. Naruto gasped and stumbled backward, falling in the process. As if flood beams had suddenly turned on, Naruto could suddenly see everything in the cage and he knew without a doubt that he was looking at a locked and caged Kyuubi.

"Naruto..." An impossibly deep and menacing voice says though Naruto is unsure if there is any malice behind the words.

Aware that he is still inside the cage, Naruto quickly scuttles backward. An amused laugh echoes around and through Naruto.

"Even if I wanted to, which I am still contemplating, I can't do anything to you in here. These accursed bonds that your dear daddy placed prevent it." Kyuubi says, and it takes several moments before Naruto can comprehend what it is that he heard. Unbidden, tears form in his eyes and travel down his cheeks.

"You're saying that my father was the... Fourth Hokage?" Naruto asked in a shaky voice. Naruto can see the feral grin of Kyuubi through the bars.

"What's the matter little one? Not what you were hoping for? Were you hoping for someone who was out there searching for you so that you could have a happy life?" Kyuubi asked sarcastically and Naruto felt anger creeping in.

"You're lying! You're just a damn demon that has made my life a living hell! I'm glad that you're in there! For all I care, you can just stay there and rot!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling all of his frustrations for how his life was boil over and the Kyuubi once again laughed.

Before the nine tails had a chance to respond, Naruto turned around and walked away. When he got to the corner and got through the dizziness and vertigo, he realized that he was back in his own room. He glanced over at his clock and saw that it was already 8 in the morning. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, so he got dressed and went out to train all of his frustrations out.

When he got to the training grounds, he was surprised to see that Kiba was already there. Across from him was another of the Inuzuka clan, and Naruto didn't need to be told that it was Tsume, Kiba's mother, and chief of the clan. Her reputation was fearsome. She was known to be a bit of a hard-ass, but she was fair and fiercely loyal to her family.

Naruto was curious to see what they were up to, so he stealthily made his way to some of the bushes on the perimeter of the clearing and settled himself in to watch. To his annoyance, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew that he would be discovered if he tried to get closer.

While watching the two, he noticed Tsume give Kiba a shake of her head and Kiba frowned, then shrugged.

At a word from Tsume, Kiba got into a fighting stance, with both arms crossed in front of him and his knees bent. He kept on the balls of his feet so that he could move quickly if he needed to. Tsume barked an order and Kiba turned his body.

In the blink of an eye, he released his coiled body and sprang forward. His feet left the ground and his entire body started spinning so rapidly that he was nothing but a blur. Naruto could see his nails, which Naruto knew were kept rather sharp, at the focal point of the rotation.

As amazed as Naruto was, he could easily see that Kiba had no control over where he was going. This was made evident by the fact that he ran straight into Tsume, who disappeared in a cloud of smoke. In her place was the battered and splintered remains of a log.

Naruto was amazed at the devastating power behind the jutsu that his best friend had just performed. He knew that he was grinning like an idiot, but unfortunately for him, that happiness was short-lived. Naruto jumped nearly a foot in the air when a hand landed on his shoulder. When he looked behind him, he unconsciously gulped.

Standing behind him was none other than Tsume herself, and tagging along right at her heels was a terrifying looking dog with an eyepatch and a scar running down the side of his face. Tsume was grinning and Naruto felt even more scared because of that.

As he felt himself back up, Tsume's gaze softened and she lowered into a squat.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Naruto. I'm not going to hurt you. Please don't be scared." Tsume said and her voice was very reminiscent of Kiba's when he had tried to calm Naruto down when he had first met him.

To Naruto's horror, he could feel tears trickling down his cheeks. He was afraid of the woman standing in front of him. He knew that if she wanted to, she could hurt him.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Kiba asked from directly behind Naruto and Naruto jumped in shock and turned around to find Kiba standing there with Akamaru on his head.

"I'm afraid that I may have startled him. He seems like he's in shock." Tsume said, and Naruto tried his best to control himself. He looked down towards the ground subserviently and faced Tsume once more.

"I apologize for intruding on your training session with your son Tsume-Sama," Naruto said, and because he was looking down, he didn't notice Tsume frown.

"It's not a problem Naruto. I don't mind. I'm sorry for startling you like that." Tsume said and Naruto smiled, though Kiba could tell that it was a fake smile.

"It's nothing to be sorry about. I'll leave you guys to it then." Naruto said and turned around.

Before he took two steps though, someone grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. When Naruto felt the hand, his entire body froze and tensed in anticipation of an attack. What he was met with, however, was Kiba giving him a gentle smile. Kiba wrapped Naruto in a hug and Naruto, though he was shocked at first, returned it almost immediately.

Tsume was watching the display with a wry smile and, though she hated to break the moment, she coughed lightly and Kiba and Naruto broke apart, though they stayed close.

"I think we've trained enough for today Kiba. Naruto, would you like to have dinner at the Inuzuka Compound with Kiba, Hana, and myself?" Tsume asked, and Naruto graced her with a genuine smile.

"As much as I would love to, I'd hate to be a burden to you guys, especially since you guys have been nice to me so far. Maybe some other time." Naruto said, and before Tsume could try to push the subject, he was gone.

She frowned slightly to herself. She knew that the boy was lonely and an outcast, but she hasn't realized just how deeply it had scarred him. She berated herself and thought that of course being at such a young age and having to deal with such adult problems, it was no surprise at how Naruto acted.

"Man, it would have been awesome to have Naruto there," Kiba whined, and Tsume chuckled.

"You'll get your chance to have him over one of these days Kiba. Now, do you want to train some more or do you want to go home?" Tsume asked, and judging by the gleam in Kiba's eye, she knew that he was going to run himself ragged. In that moment, she saw herself reflected in her son and was proud.

"Hell yeah I wanna keep training! Who do you think I am, dad?" Kiba asked snarkily and Tsume laughed before getting back into her fighting stance.

"Bring it on then, pup" She said derisively, though not unkindly. Kiba grinned at her and got into the Fang Over Fang stance again.

As for Naruto, he was walking back to his home, feeling slightly dejected. He was very suspicious on how Tsume had treated him. He had been expecting her to hate him, especially when he returned Kiba's hug, but she had almost seemed kind to him. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Kiba had been the only one to ever show him any kindness, and he was still unsure sometimes, though he would never let Kiba know that.

* * *

Naruto and Kiba were hanging out like usual. They were in the training fields and Kiba was helping Naruto train. After they had both worked themselves into exhaustion, Kiba said that he wanted Naruto to follow him and, because Naruto trusted Kiba implicitly, he followed him.

Kiba led him to an alleyway and said that it was a shortcut with no one there to harass him and because Naruto was tired and just wanted to get home, he followed Kiba without a second thought.

They were halfway through the alleyway before Naruto saw shadows materialize into people from the edges of the alleyway. Naruto suddenly got worried, a feeling that increased tenfold when he looked back where he had come from and saw that there were even more people who were blocking the exit.

Naruto turned to look at Kiba and was taken aback when he saw that Kiba was smiling at him. The smile held none of the warmth that Naruto had come to expect. In fact, it looked so much like the hateful and spiteful smiled that the rest of the village gave him that Naruto knew he was in danger. Before he could even try to get away, Kiba had a hold of him and held his arms behind his back.

Still in shock, Naruto didn't even put up a fight as the thugs came closer. He just hung limply in Kiba's hold. He didn't even struggle when he saw the glint of metal in the hands of the thugs. He knew that he was about to die, and he couldn't care less. The one person who had shown him kindness had betrayed him.

Naruto realized with a sickening feeling that it had all been a game to Kiba and that he had never held any affection for him. Surprisingly, this betrayal hurt more than anything the village had ever done to him and when he saw the thugs raise their knives to bring them down on him, he found himself wishing in his heart that they would just get on with it so that the pain would stop.

Just before the knives hit their mark, Naruto sat bolt upright in his bed, sweat coating his body and he found himself shivering. It took him several seconds to realize that it was just a dream. When he realized that, he felt relief wash over him, though it was heavily tinged with doubt. He was unsurprised to find that he was crying heavily

 _'What if that is really how Kiba feels? I am a monster after all. Why wouldn't he hate me?'_ Naruto thought, and fresh tears streaked down his face. He hugged himself in a fetal position and rocked himself back and forth, lost in his misery.

It took several hours before he was so exhausted that he fell back asleep. Thankfully, he didn't have any more dreams.


	4. First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is going to have some major differences from the actual storyline. For instance, Naruto isn't going to be as hyperactive or so much into pranks. He will be a bit more vulnerable and, in my opinion, relatable.

When Naruto and Kiba met up the next day, Kiba could tell that something was wrong. Naruto wouldn't look him in the eyes and he flinched whenever Kiba made a move that he didn't expect. But for the life of him, Kiba couldn't get Naruto to spill what was bothering him and it was frustrating him.

"Come on Naruto! You can't fool me like that. I know when something is wrong! I'm worried about you. Don't you trust me enough to tell me?" Kiba exclaimed a bit louder than he intended and was really surprised when Naruto's shoulders came up in a protective manner and he looked like a kicked puppy. Kiba wondered if he had gone too far, though he had no idea what he might have done wrong.

"It's... it's not that I don't trust you Kiba. I just maybe... trust you too much?" Naruto said in confusion in a small and vulnerable voice, still adamantly refusing to meet Kiba's gaze, which had gone wide in shock and then narrowed a bit in confusion.

"Trust me too much? What is that supposed to mean? I don't know what you mean." Kiba said in a much calmer voice, pleased that he was at least getting somewhere with the blond boy who had become one of his best friends.

"Nothing... I'm probably just being stupid anyways. But enough of this. Are you excited about getting placed in our teams tomorrow?" Naruto asked, desperately trying to find a way to change the subject. He was referring to the fact that both Kiba and himself had both passed ninja academy and were finally able to go on missions for the good of the village. He gave a little sigh of relief and his shoulders dropped a bit when Kiba grinned at him, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Kiba. As much as Kiba wanted to pursue what was going on, he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to push the blond into doing something that he didn't want to do, nor did the tattooed boy really want to push him like that.

"Yeah, I'm excited to start providing for the village," Kiba said simply, and Naruto nodded his head.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I just feel like if I could do something more for the village, then maybe they would start accepting me." Naruto said, not really believing a word of it. He felt that if he believed that, then he would just be naive. However, he wanted to make Kiba believe that he was doing better, mainly because he didn't want to worry him if there was still the chance that he was being serious in his feelings for Naruto.

"I hate to say it Naruto, but I don't know if even being Hokage would help," Kiba said gently. He didn't want to hurt Naruto, but he wanted to lie to him even less. Surprisingly, a smile played on Naruto's lips.

"Haha. Well, we'll just have to see about that, huh? Hokage Uzumaki... It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Naruto said playfully, almost completely forgetting about his earlier fears. They still nagged in a corner of his mind, but he refused to pay them any heed.

"I do like the sound of that, but if you're gonna go for it, then I guess I'll have to beat you there. What say we may a little bet, Naru-kun?" Kiba said cheekily at the suffix. Naruto grinned in mirth and placed his hands on his hips.

"You are so on Dogbreath! When I win, you'll have to be my slave for the rest of your life!" Naruto exclaimed, not really meaning it.

"Oh yeah, well that goes double for you Naruto! You'll be my slave for eternity when I leave your ass in the dust!" Kiba said though Naruto knew that he didn't mean it unkindly. Naruto tried his best to look offended and like Kiba was his arch-nemesis, but after just a few brief moments, he busted out laughing. Kiba grinned and laughed as well, both of them holding on to each other as they fought to regain oxygen.

When they both regained their breath, Kiba got caught in Naruto's eyes and, being overwhelmed by a sudden impulse, he pulled Naruto into a hug, not knowing why, but just needing the blond boy close to him for a few minutes. Naruto's scent tickled Kiba's nostrils and made him relaxed and content.

As for Naruto, he flinched slightly at the unexpected reaction and tentatively hugged Kiba back. He was fighting an internal war. On one hand, he didn't want to get hurt by getting too close to Kiba, just in case Kiba was just being friendly to him as part of the most unpleasant practical joke that anyone had ever played on him. On the other hand, Naruto was so _damned_ tired of being alone and unwanted. Kiba made him feel wanted and gave him unconditional company, seemingly wanting nothing more than to spend more time with Naruto.

Finally, with a newfound and unexpected relief, Naruto decided that he would give Kiba the chance to prove his fears wrong. Naruto knew that it could end badly for him, but he just didn't have it in him to have felt this way and go back to what he had before. _'If this is a joke to him, then congratulations to him, because I am completely falling for it, and I just... want something to be good in my life for once.'_ Naruto thought and gave Kiba a better hug, not that Kiba particularly noticed the lapse in Naruto's character.

When they parted, Kiba placed his hands behind his head sheepishly and looked at the sky, noting how far the sun had gone down and sighed Naruto looked at him from the corner of his eye, silently wondering what had Kiba down.

"It's getting kinda late, and Mom wanted me home to watch the dogs while she went on a mission," Kiba said and Naruto understood. Naruto frowned and turned to face Kiba completely.

"Well, I guess I'll see you for class tomorrow then," Naruto said and Kiba smiled again.

"Yep, see you then. Safe travels." Kiba said seriously, and Naruto, who had already started walking off, raised his hand and waved back at Kiba. Kiba chuckled and shook his head at Naruto's antics, feeling nothing but fondness for the boy.

* * *

**The Next Day**

* * *

When Naruto was woken from sleep by his alarm clock, he jolted upright and looked menacingly at the offending contraption, damning it in his mind to the fieriest pits of hell. For a brief moment, he wondered why he had even set it the previous night before he remembered that the first day of Academy was that day. He felt nothing but worry over the fact that he was going to be in a room full of people that probably hated his guts for something that he had no control over.

 _'I just hope that I can get placed on a team with Kiba... That would at least make things a bit more bearable.'_ Naruto thought, and then got ready.

As Naruto made his way to the academy, the usual glares and whispers followed him, and he did his best to be unaffected, but on the inside, he just felt so small and insignificant. He wanted to be someone that people could call a friend, but he wasn't even given the chance to show that he wasn't the monster that was sealed inside of him. He knew that if people would just give him the chance, he would be able to change their minds.

These thoughts occupied his head as he made his way to the class and sat down. He was one of the first people there surprisingly, so he chose a seat in the back of the classroom so that people would be less likely to mess with him. Unfortunately for him, because he was farther away from the teacher, Iruka-Sensei, the other kids who were back there took advantage of that and spent a lot of their time in the classroom shooting spitballs his way, kicking the back of his chair, and other acts of the same nature. Naruto knew that he could bring it up to Iruka-sensei, but he loathed the idea of involving someone else, especially a teacher.

It was bad enough that Kiba had noticed and decided that he would sit next to Naruto for class. Whenever one of the kids got the guts to do something, Kiba would glare at them and give off a quiet warning growl. The kids would usually get the hint, turn red in embarrassment, and just ignore Naruto from then on. Eventually, everyone got the message, and they left the pair alone.

When Naruto saw someone out of the corner of his eye sit down next to him, he turned his head, expecting that it would be Kiba there, but to his surprise, it was another student. The prodigy and last surviving member of his clan, Uchiha Sasuke. He was unmistakable with his onyx eyes, raven hair, and rather foreboding and brooding countenance. Sasuke noticed the blond looking at him and gave a contemptuous "Hn." at Naruto's look of confusion. Thankfully, Naruto was spared the task of trying to find out why the Uchiha had decided to sit next to him by the timely arrival of Kiba, who sat on the other side of Naruto. Kiba looked questioningly and suspiciously at Sasuke, who barely gave him a nod of his head in acknowledgment.

Naruto and Kiba chatted for a little bit, waiting on Iruka-Sensei to start the class. They were both eager because it was going to signify the start of their ninja careers.

"All right class, today is the big day. I'm going to announce your teams. You will all be set up in teams of three under the guidance and supervision of a jonin. First up is Squad Seven. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka said. Sakura was a slight kunoichi with bubblegum pink hair, jade green eyes, and a rather... pronounced forehead. Naruto looked her over, and his thought was that she was pretty enough.

Naruto was discouraged to know that he wasn't going to be on a team with Kiba. He was worried because he knew next to nothing about Sakura, however, he felt that he could relate a little to Sasuke. Neither of the two had parents anymore, so they both knew that kind of pain.

"Next up is Squad Eight. Those three will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino." Iruka announced, and Naruto looked around for the other two that got placed on Kiba's team. Hinata was a shy looking girl with short cut black hair and pale violet eyes. Shino was mostly covered in a trenchcoat, and he had on blacked out goggles. He looked like the kind of guy who valued privacy. Kiba looked at Naruto and Naruto looked back. Kiba looked slightly worried, and Naruto wasn't quite sure if it was because Kiba had been wanting to be on a team with him as well. Naruto grinned and gave Kiba a thumbs up, trying to convey to Kiba that he would be okay. He saw Kiba relax a bit.

"And finally, Squad Ten will be Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji. Congratulations to all of you, and I wish you the best of luck in your careers." Iruka said, and just like that, they were officially ninja, a thought made more real by the fact that Iruka handed all of them the customary ninja headband. Naruto put his on with a sense of pride for making it to ninja status despite all of the people who were rooting against him.

Naruto glanced at the final trio, wanting to know exactly who they were. He had spent the entire class with them, but he tried to keep to himself, so he never really got to put names to faces. Shikamaru was a bored looking guy with a ponytail and an ear piercing. Naruto noticed that while his countenance was bored, his eyes never stopped scanning the room, soaking up all of the details. Ino was a blond kunoichi with light green eyes and, to Naruto, she seemed a bit uppity. Choji was a rather... large individual who Naruto had never seen without a bag of chips or some other kind of snack. He had spiral tattoos on his cheeks and spiky light brown hair.

 _'Well, there goes my comfort level, but hey, how bad can it be, right? I mean, I can get them to like me, surely! Believe it!'_ Naruto thought to himself, trying his hardest to psyche himself up for the future.

* * *

"So this is Naruto's apartment?" A silver-haired jonin by the name of Hatake Kakashi asked an older man sitting at Naruto's dining table.

"It is indeed. He will be on your team, as well as Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. I expect you to keep your eye on them, especially Sasuke." The old man, who was the current Hokage, said.

"Of course Sandaime-Sama, but wouldn't it be wiser to keep a closer eye on Naruto?" Kakashi asked in confusion, though the Hokage noted that he didn't have the disgust in his voice that he had come to expect from anyone who spoke of Naruto.

"Naruto has led such a hard life. The seal would have broken by now if something were wrong. He deserves better than constant judgment and scrutiny. In fact, I am going to take him under my wing, in secret, to train him. If he gets the right training, he could become a very valuable asset to this village, but even more, he might be able to get it through to the village that he is someone who should be respected and loved. No one deserves to have to go through what he has, especially at the hands of their own father. Minato may have thought that he was doing best for everyone, but it is still a terrible thing to do to your only child." The Sandaime said, and Kakashi, while surprised that the Hokage himself was taking such an interest in the training of the blond, felt the sincerity in Hiruzen's voice.


	5. Ninjas, Finally!

It didn't take long before the senseis of the other two squads to come and collect them. A pretty woman with reddish eyes named Kurenai was the sensei of Kiba's squad and a tall, well-muscled guy with a beard who smelled of cigarettes named Asuma was the sensei of Shikamaru's squad. Naruto noticed that the two senseis came in together, and that they seemed very familiar with each other, maybe even more so than just work partners.

As Kiba was walking out, he turned his head and locked eyes with Naruto. Naruto did his best to keep up a happy facade, but he felt it slip with the fact that he and Kiba were going different ways. He knew that Kiba saw the worry and fear in Naruto's eyes. Kiba's eyes widened a bit and he looked like he wanted to rush to Naruto, but he wasn't given the chance. With Kiba gone, Naruto struggled to keep his composure, and went to sit with Sakura and Sasuke so that he would have a distraction.

However, at a single glance from Sakura, Naruto knew that he was not welcome with them, and so he forced a smile on his face and shrugged as if he wasn't bothered, going to sit at the other end of the classroom.

As the time crept by, Naruto could easily feel the tension in the room, as well as the frustration. Sasuke was sitting with his shoulders hunched and drumming his fingers across the top of the desk in front of him. Sakura was worriedly looking between Sasuke and the door of the classroom, looking like she wished something, anything, would happen. She kept opening her mouth as if she was wanting to say something, glancing at Sasuke and blushing.

Just when Naruto thought that the tension would reach a boiling point, a gloved hand came into view around the side of the door and a masked face with silver hair came in to view. The man who had entered had his left eye covered by the ninja headband of the Hidden Leaf Village, and Naruto found himself curious as to what would be hidden behind the face mask.

"Yo, I'm Hatake Kakashi and I am going to be your jonin mentor. For your first lesson, follow me." Kakashi said, and Sasuke and Sakura were on their feet following close behind Kakashi, while Naruto followed a way behind, something that did not escape the notice of Kakashi.

Kakashi led them to the top of the heads of the previous and current Hokages. He bid them all sit together in a row and Naruto did so reluctantly. He intentionally left some space between him and the other two. Thankfully, neither of them seemed interested in paying him any attention. They were too focused on the silver haired jonin in front of them.

"Well, why don't we start out by telling each other a little bit about yourselves? What are your hobbies, you likes and dislikes, your biggest dream, things like that?" Kakashi said, and Naruto saw Sasuke arch his eyebrow.

"We've only just let and you want us to start spilling our life stories? How about you go first?" Sasuke said.

"Hmm… okay. My name is Hatake Kakashi, I have many hobbies as well as likes and dislikes, and my biggest dream isn't really any of your business." Kakashi said, though not unkindly.

Sasuke snorted quietly and Sakura looked at Kakashi skeptically. Naruto just raised an eyebrow because all three of them knew that Kakashi had essentially told them nothing. Kakashi looked expectantly at Sasuke and Sasuke rolled his eyes before complying.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't really like much and I hate a lot of things. As for dreams… well, I wouldn't call it a dream. It's an ambition. I want to kill a certain man." Sasuke said mysteriously and Sakura just stared at him and Naruto could have sworn that he saw hearts in her eyes. Kakashi appeared unimpressed.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing that I like… well the person that I like… and my hobbies… and the thing that I hate most is Naruto!" She said vehemently. She kept glancing at Sasuke for the other parts of her speech.

Naruto flinched slightly at her tone of voice before he could compose his features into an impassive mask.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies are varied. I like ramen, especially Ichiraku ramen. I don't really hate anything except for liars and bullies. As for my dream…" Naruto started. He thought back to his conversation with Kiba the previous day and smiled.

"My dream is to become the Hokage and gain the respect of everyone in the village." Naruto said and was unsurprised when Sakura unsuccessfully tried to stifle her laughter. Naruto saw Kakashi's eyebrow raise in surprise.

"As if anyone in the village would ever respect you of all people." Sakura said haughtily. Naruto was expecting it so he remained unfazed, but Kakashi could feel the beginning stirrings of anger in the pit of his stomach.

"What exactly is your problem with Naruto here? What has he ever done to you?" Kakashi asked in a cool voice that was as hard as steel.

"He exists. Not to mention the fact that everyone else in the village hates him, and there you go. There must be a good reason for so many people to hate him so much." Sakura said as if it made the most sense in the world. Naruto bowed his head to hide his face and Kakashi felt even angrier.

"So, what you are saying is that you personally don't have a reason to treat someone like that? You are just going with the crowd without making your own opinion. Just because someone does something does not mean that you have to do it as well." Kakashi said, and Sakura blanched and looked a bit taken aback.

"But sensei…" She said and Kakashi cut her off before she could continue.

"No buts. He is your teammate now and I expect that you will treat him with the respect deserving of the station of a genin of the Hidden Leaf village. The same respect that you should expect to receive from him. If you want to hate him, that is your prerogative, however, I expect you to have made your own opinions and judgements based on _your_ dealings with Naruto." Kakashi said, and Sakura numbly nodded her head in shame.

Naruto, on the other hand, was trying his hardest to keep his composure. He had never heard anyone stand up for him like that except for Kiba, and it gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Now, I want all of you at the training ground by 8 tomorrow morning. Don't be late!" Kakashi said and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Naruto didn't stick around with his teammates, mainly because he didn't want to deal with the constant glares and hate that was sent his way.

By the time that Naruto got to his apartment, the sun was nearing its' zenith. He unlocked his door and stepped in, surprised to find that the entryway light was already on. He knew that he had turned it off on his way out, so that meant someone had been in his apartment. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time that had happened. He just wished that they hadn't taken anything of any value that time. Not that he had much in the first place.

As he closed his door, a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Naruto turned around and was surprised to see a tall figure wearing ANBU gear. His mask looked like a dog with red markings around it and fabric wrapping around his head so that none of his hair or skin showed. Naruto took a step backwards in fear, thinking that he was about to get seriously hurt, or even killed.

He was doubly sure when the unknown ninja started with hand signs that were faster than Naruto could even begin to comprehend. As the jutsu was completed, Naruto felt his eyes roll into the back of his head, and his last thought was, _'At least there isn't any pain…'_ and then he slumped unconscious.

The masked ninja was quick to catch Naruto before he hit the floor, and then he teleported to a dimly lit room. In the middle of the room, sitting on a cushion at a low table, was the Sandaime, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Thank you for bringing him. You are dismissed." Hiruzen said, and the ANBU member bowed his head and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Hiruzen stiffly got up and approached Naruto. He studied the boy for a moment, remarking how much he was beginning to look like his father. He made the few hand seals to release Naruto from the forced sleep that he was in.

Naruto awoke abruptly and, not recognizing his surroundings, was terrified. He looked wildly around until his eyes settled on Hiruzen, and then confusion reigned as the predominant emotion in the young jinchuurikis' eyes.

"Ho.. Hokage-Sama… What am I doing here?" Naruto asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

"You are here for training, Naruto. I know how the village has treated you, and I want you to know that not everyone feels the way that they do. I, for one, think that you could be an extremely valuable asset to the Hidden Leaf village, one that everyone could look up to, given time. I would like to help you achieve that." Hiruzen said, and Naruto gave him a look of suspicion.

"What do you mean? I don't mean to sound rude, but it does seem a bit… suspicious that all of a sudden you would want to help me out, after all of these years." Naruto said.

"I know. It took me this long to be able to get out from under the scrutiny of the Council. They oppose what I want to do, and it could cause great harm if they were to find out that I am helping you. As such, you are in ANBU headquarters right now, which is still mostly my domain." Hiruzen stated, and Naruto, though he was still suspicious, decided that even if he wasn't going to trust the old man, there was no way that he could refuse because he didn't know how to get back to his home.

"Okay. I don't trust what you are doing yet though. For all I know, you could just be training me to be a weapon to use whenever you feel like it." Naruto brazenly said, and Hiruzen smiled ruefully.

"I won't do that, though. You will still retain your free will and be free to make your own decisions. All I ask is that you give me a chance to help you." Hiruzen said and gave Naruto a scroll. Upon opening and reading the scroll, Naruto discovered that it was a map to get back to his apartment.

"I ask that you memorize this scroll. I can't allow you to take it with you because of the breach in security it would cause if it were to fall into the wrong hands, but I want to show you some trust. I can't expect you to begin trusting me if I won't give you the same courtesy." Hiruzen said, and Naruto relaxed slightly.

"… Okay. I'll give you a chance to prove my gut wrong. What do I need to do?" Naruto asked, and Hiruzen smiled.

"Well, first thing is that you cannot tell anyone that you are receiving training from me. There are ears everywhere, and you never really know who you can trust." Hiruzen said, unknowingly echoing Naruto's own thoughts.

"That's fine. It's not like I really have that many people to talk to." Naruto said without emotion.

"I would love to say that that wasn't true, but we both know that I would be lying. However, I think that the village will come around if given the chance." Hiruzen said.

"Maybe… a friend of mine told me that people might not even be accepting of me if I held the title of Hokage. He didn't say it to be mean, but because he knows that I wouldn't want anyone sugarcoating something for me in fear that I wouldn't like what they said." Naruto said, and Hiruzen got the hint to follow that line of thinking if he wanted to earn Naruto's trust.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Hiruzen said, and Naruto smirked.

"I guess so. Well, we aren't getting any younger, so let's get on with it." Naruto said and Hiruzen nodded.

"Very well. As of this moment forward, you are my disciple. I will endeavor to teach you what I know. Starting with this." Hiruzen said and made a few hand signs. When the jutsu was completed, there was a replica of Hiruzen standing to his right. Naruto just raised his eyebrow.

"I already know the cloning jutsu. I had to do it to pass ninja academy." Naruto said and it was Hiruzen's turn to smirk.

"This isn't a clone." He said, and the clone proved it by punching a hole into the table to his right, and Naruto whistled.

"A clone that isn't just an image. Nice. What is this jutsu called?" He asked, impressed.

"This is Hidden Leaf's Shadow Clone Jutsu. It is a very valuable technique because, unlike your usual clones, these can interact with the real world. Not only that, but they can also use ninjutsu. This does pose a problem sometimes though. You have to share your chakra between them, and there isn't a limit to how many can be made, except for the amount of chakra you possess." Hiruzen said.

"Okay. Please show me the hand signs again so that I can try." Naruto said. Hiruzen did, and Naruto copied his movements. It took him almost an hour before he was able to get the jutsu to function properly. Naruto limited the amount of chakra that he put into the jutsu, not wanting to exhaust his limits so early, but he was shocked when instead of one clone, he made a total of twenty-five.

"Woah, I meant to only make one… I guess I used up more chakra than I thought I did." Naruto said in surprise and Hiruzen looked at him critically for a moment.

"Do you feel like you used more chakra than you meant to?" He asked and Naruto shook his head.

"No, I tried to limit it because I didn't want to run out." Naruto said.

"I doubt that you used more than you meant to. This jutsu takes a decent amount of chakra, but based on this, I would say that your pool is quite large indeed. It will be interesting as time goes on to see just how advanced you can get. Well, anyway, you seem to have mastered that jutsu, so let's move on. By the way, just so you are aware of the difficulty of that jutsu, it is an upper chunin jutsu, almost to the level of jonin. You managed to master in under an hour. I showed this jutsu to you partly to get your interest because, unfortunately, it isn't going to be learning jutsu all of the time. There are valuable skills that you need to learn, ways that you can use your chakra that you've probably never even thought of." Hiruzen said and Naruto felt intrigued as well as a bit of pride for mastering what is considered an advanced technique.

The two trained to the very limits of Naruto's chakra. Because his chakra store was large, it took them well into the evening before Naruto felt exhausted. They had only stopped a few times to eat and to use the restroom. Naruto learned a great many things and he began to feel hopeful that he could start to gain the respect of others.

"Very good Naruto. This is remarkable progress. Now, I don't want you to think that you only have to train here. You might not want to go with some of the flashier jutsu when out of this area, but you should train your taijutsu so that you are rounded. You would be at a disadvantage if you focused solely on ninjutsu. Maybe a bit later, we can try out some genjutsu as well. You can go back home now." Hiruzen said, and Naruto nodded, excited for the future for one of the few times that he could remember.


	6. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter of this series. I hope that everyone is liking it thus far and I am always happy to hear from you guys. I will also accept ideas for future plot elements if you have any that you are willing to share.

When Naruto got back to where he could see the sky, he was a little bit surprised to find that the moon was already rather high in the sky, marking it to be around dinner time. He decided that he didn't want to go through the streets and run the risk of running into someone that was going to give him trouble, so he jumped from the ground to the side of a building in an alleyway. He focused some chakra to the bottoms of his feet like Hiruzen had taught him and then he walked up the side of the building.

When he reached the roof, he started jumping across them, startling a few birds from their roosts in the process. It took him about half the time to reach his apartment than it usually did. When he reached his front door, he happened to look down and he saw a folded piece of paper. Puzzled, he bent down to pick it up and examine it as he unlocked his door.

He flicked on the hallway lights so that he could see better, kicking off his shoes on the mat just inside. He saw his name on the front and recognized Kiba's handwriting.

_'Naruto, I was just wanting to make sure that you're okay. I wish we could have been on the same team, but who knows, maybe this will give others a chance to see just how awesome you are! Anyway, I'm sorry that I missed you, but I was wondering if you would like to catch up over dinner tonight? My mom already invited you, and she really wants to get to know you better. Please? For me? Hopefully, I'll see you soon. ~Kiba'_

Naruto was happy that Kiba had come to check up on him and he was sad that he missed him, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to put himself on the line to go to the Inuzuka compound and have dinner with Kiba's family. Eventually, the thought of seeing his friend and talking with him outweighed his fear of seeing Kiba's mother again. He was feeling hopeful from the progress that he had made in training and he wanted to see if his luck would hold.

Naruto made his way to the compound. The closer he got, the more tense he got. When he arrived, his anxiety increased when he spotted the Inuzuka's most fearsome fighting dog, Kuromaru. The scarred visage of the dog was frightening, and almost caused Naruto to backtrack back to his house. Kuromaru gave one short bark, and suddenly, Tsume was in the door smiling, with Kiba just behind her.

"Naruto! I thought for sure that you wouldn't show up!" Kiba said, and the happiness in his voice rooted Naruto to the spot. If he could make Kiba that happy just by showing up, then he could brave his terrifying mother and even more terrifying guard dog.

"Yeah, well, I felt bad for not coming over the last time, so I thought I would make up for it." Naruto said with a hand behind his head sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Kiba grinned brightly at him and Naruto smiled hesitantly back.

"Well there's no need to stand out in the gloom. Come in!" Tsume said. She said it gently, but Naruto still almost felt like it was an order and his shoulders tensed slightly.

 _'It's not like she really is ordering you! You've heard her when she is ordering, and this isn't it. Man up!'_ Naruto told himself.

"Thanks. I really appreciate you having me over and I'll find a way to repay you for the food." Naruto said and Tsume shook her head.

"Nonsense. You are our guest, and there isn't anything that you have to repay. I'm happy to have you over." Tsume said and she sounded so sincere that Naruto didn't really have a choice but to believe her.

Taking a step inside the house, Naruto was momentarily stunned. It wasn't quite as opulent as the Hokage mansion, but it had a sophisticated elegance to it that was astounding to behold.

The floor plan was an open design, and there was a very large kitchen that Naruto could see the beginnings of to his left. There was a gathering room for guests and family that had games like shoji and such. Against the wall to Naruto's right was a grand staircase that led to the second floor. Straight across from Naruto was a large glass door that led out onto a deck which led to the backyard.

"Wow, your place is huge!" Naruto said, and Tsume smiled at him.

"I'm glad you like it. Well, make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready shortly." Tsume said and walked off, leaving the two boys alone. Kiba beckoned with a shift of his head for Naruto to follow him. Naruto did so and they traveled up the stairs. The top floor had five doors down it. Kiba led them to the second one on the right and opened it, revealing his room.

When Naruto walked in Kiba's room, he was hit was a subtle scent of the boy and he unconsciously took a deeper breath through his nose to get a better smell. It brought comfort and security to Naruto and he relaxed even further letting even more of his rigidness flow out of him.

"Well, this is my room. Sorry for the mess." Kiba said sheepishly. The blond looked around and saw that there were some dirty clothes laying here and there, some ninja equipment scattered, and basically just the clutter that you would expect from a 13-year-old boy. It had a bed that was at least twice the size of the one from Naruto's apartment and it was just a cozy and well lived in space.

"This is nothing. You've seen my apartment on some of the bad days, so don't sweat it. Thanks for inviting me here." Naruto said and Kiba grinned, a small amount of red coming to life on his face.

"Yeah, well, I like spending time with you…" Kiba said, and Naruto gave Kiba one of his rare genuine smiles.

"The feeling is mutual." Naruto said. Kiba grabbed Naruto's wrist and dragged him to the bed where they both sat down.

"So, Kurenai-sensei is a pretty good teacher. We spent the day hanging out around the village getting to know one another. She said that it builds teamwork, and that teamwork is the most important tool at a ninjas' disposal." Kiba said with a small smile, reminiscing about the day. The happiness that Kiba felt was infectious and Naruto felt himself grinning slightly as well.

"That's great. I agree, teamwork is super important. I'm glad that your teammates like you." Naruto said. His statement was devoid of any negative emotions. Naruto had come to expect that kind of treatment from people, so he did his best to not let it get to him. Kiba saw through him though, having spent enough time with the boy to tell from the subtle signs on his face when something had happened. The dog nin was smart enough to put two and two together.

"Why can no one see what an amazing guy you are! I swear, everyone is so blind!" Kiba said a bit loudly, and Naruto shushed him, blushing slightly.

"You know what they say about crazy people, right? How when you are the only one saying that you are sane, you are usually the one who is being fooled. Maybe I really am that bad…" Naruto said self-depreciatingly. Kiba got a gleam in his eye and faced Naruto fully, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to look in Kiba's eyes.

"Listen to me Naruto. You are an amazing human being. I'm not saying that to lie to you. You know that I wouldn't do that. No one else has given you the chance to prove them wrong, and it isn't your fault. I know that one day you will be someone that people can look up to. It will just take a bit of patience. I know I said that not even you becoming the Hokage would change the views of the village, but I know that _when_ people give you the chance, you will amaze them. Just like you've amazed me." Kiba said and Naruto ducked his head so that Kiba wouldn't be able to see the tears welling up in his eyes.

Kiba, however, wasn't done making his point. He gripped Naruto's chin gently and turned his head back up to look at him. The tears spilled from the corners of Naruto's eyes, and his face spoke of such anguish. Kiba smiled gently and warmly at Naruto and used his thumb to brush the tears from Naruto's face, cupping his cheek slightly.

Time seemed to stand still for the two young men and they just looked into each other's eyes, feeling completely safe and content in that moment. They leaned closer to each other, being drawn to one another to be closer together.

A loud noise startled the two and they broke apart, blinking as if waking up from a trance. They looked towards Kiba's door and found that Tsume was standing there looking quite chagrined and with a decent amount of red covering her face.

"Sorry. I nearly tripped… Anyway, I was coming to let you know that dinner is ready." She said and ducked out of the room quickly.

Naruto looked at Kiba from the corner of his eye, taking in his features, features that he knew so well by this point that he could see him when he closed his eyes. However, Naruto looked and saw something more than the best friend that Kiba had been for him for so long. He couldn't put a name to this new feeling that was spreading through his chest and across his cheeks in the form of a blush. Naruto shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of the blush, but the feeling in his core remained.

"Well, let's go get some food Naruto." Kiba said, his voice softer than usual, looking askance at Naruto and smiling his toothy grin. Naruto fought back another blush, a weird feeling spreading in his stomach, and he nodded his head.

As they descended the stairs, Naruto could smell cooking meat and it set his mouth watering, only then really noticing just how hungry he was. He followed Kiba and Tsume to the dining room and was surprised at the amount of food set out on the table. There was yakitori, some tempura vegetables, bowls of rice, a sukiyaki station, and a smattering of different sushi.

"We didn't quite know what you liked, so we made some of everything. Kiba told us that you only liked ramen, and I want to see if we can get you to like some other things." A new voice said and Naruto looked towards the voice and saw another member of the Inuzuka family. He knew immediately that it was Hana, Kiba's older sister.

"Well, I'll give anything a try at least once. Thank you so much for having me here." Naruto said, formally bowing. When he straightened, he noticed a bit of pink on Hana's cheeks.

"Please don't bow, it's embarrassing. I'm happy that you're here, and I know that Kiba is as well. He has been looking forward to having you over for quite some time." Hana said and it was Kiba's turn to have his cheeks painted with a blush. Naruto smiled, happy to hear everything that Hana had said.

"Well, dig in, and don't be afraid to come back for more! We have plenty, and there's almost nothing better than a stomach full of great food." Tsume said, and Naruto took his place at the table, which was right next to Kiba. He gathered a bit of everything, making sure that he didn't take much, and grabbed a pair of chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu!" All of them exclaimed at the same time and started eating. As soon as the first bite hit Naruto's tongue, he felt like he was melting. The food was better than anything he was expecting.

"Holy crap! This is amazing! At least as good as Ichiraku ramen." Naruto happily said, not noticing the weird looks that he got from Hana and Tsume. Kiba, however, did notice and explained.

"Ichiraku ramen is a small ramen stand near the center of the village. It's Naruto's favorite place in the world to eat. Trust me, it's the highest compliment you can get from him." Kiba said chuckling, and Naruto grinned sheepishly. Hana and Tsume laughed a bit and then continued eating.

After everyone had stuffed themselves to the brim, Naruto started yawning. He was tired from everything that had happened that day, and he knew that he needed to get to bed so that he could be up in enough time to go the training grounds for the meeting of his team.

"It's getting late. I need to be heading home so that I can get some sleep. Thank you again so much for having me over. You have no idea what this has meant to me." Naruto said seriously.

"You're welcome here any time. It was our pleasure." Tsume said, barely having the energy left to keep her eyes open. Naruto chuckled and stood up, groaning as he did so. Kiba followed suit and he escorted Naruto to the door.

"Thank you for coming. I'm glad we were able to hang out more. I have a feeling that the time we will be able to spend together is about to be limited especially because we're ninjas now and expected to do missions." Kiba said, and Naruto nodded. He hesitated for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Kiba's neck, giving him an intimate hug. Naruto turned his head slightly to the side and nuzzled Kiba's neck unintentionally.

Kiba felt his breath hitch and he began to feel warm, though not in an uncomfortable way. He wrapped his arms around Naruto and they stood there for a moment, just enjoying the human contact before Naruto reluctantly pulled away.

"Have a good night Kiba, and hopefully, I'll see you soon." Naruto said and Kiba nodded.

"You too. Safe travels home." Kiba said and walked back into the Inuzuka house. Naruto wasted no time in starting to his destination. Upon arriving at his house, he unlocked his door and stepped in, turning on the hall light in the process.

It didn't take him long to go through his nightly ritual so that he could get to sleep, and he slept peacefully throughout the night, not even thinking about what had changed between him and Kiba or how it would affect him in the future.

* * *


	7. Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the seventh chapter, and I hope that you guys like it. Leave a comment and let me know what you think, and thank you to everyone who pointed out any mistakes. I'm very appreciative of it.

Naruto awoke slightly earlier than he expected that he would. He mourned the loss of sleep, as he was comfortable, but he knew that he wasn't going to get any more shut eye. He was way too nervous about the coming day. He had no idea what to expect, and he wasn't too keen on the idea of having to socialize with two people who clearly hated him.

Sighing, Naruto undressed and got in his shower, making sure to scrub his pits and pubes to get rid of any body odor that might creep up on him throughout the day. Feeling sufficiently clean, he dried off and got dressed in his usual orange jumpsuit. He loved the color orange, but he also couldn't afford any other color, so he made do with what he had. He made himself a modest breakfast of some cereal and a banana before he headed out of the door to make his way to the training grounds.

When he got there, he saw that he was the first to arrive, so he made himself comfortable on the ground to wait for the rest to get there. Sasuke was there first.

"Hello Dobe." Sasuke said derisively, though Naruto couldn't hear any particular malice to it, just the Uchiha's cockiness that Sasuke undeniably possessed. The blond hadn't gotten that much sleep the previous night because he had stayed out so long, and as a result the simple comment from Sasuke served to irritate him.

"Who are you calling dobe, teme?" Naruto asked, frustrated that he had to be stuck on a team with the arrogant raven. It was bad enough that Sakura was on the team with him. She had even stated the day previously that Naruto was the thing that she hated the most! However, Naruto intrinsically knew the value of teamwork and he vowed that he would do his best to cooperate with his teammates and follow the directions of their sensei, regardless of what the other two did. With that in mind, Naruto opened his mouth to apologize for his rude behavior, even though both knew that Sasuke had started it, but the look on Sasuke's face brought him short.

"So, it seems that you do have a spine after all. I was wondering." Sasuke said and from then on virtually ignored Naruto, though Naruto caught the edges of the Uchiha's mouth curled upwards in a smile at one point, though Sasuke was quick to get rid of the look before Naruto could comment.

Sakura arrived about ten minutes before the meeting time and while she wasn't rude to Naruto, she also didn't make any special effort to speak to or otherwise acknowledge Naruto's presence. Naruto felt like it was a step up and he wondered if the change had anything to do with the way that Kakashi-sensei had gone off on her the previous day.

They waited in somewhat uncomfortable silence for another hour before Naruto sensed motion from behind him and he instinctively whirled and raised his arm, effectively knocking Kakashi's arm up, keeping his face from being cut by the kunai knife that Kakashi held. Naruto took one glance at Kakashi, quickly examined his surroundings, and sent a shuriken flying to his left into a cluster of trees. He heard a muttered curse, and Kakashi sprang out from the trees, narrowly avoiding the shuriken.

"Well, good job Naruto. I'm surprised that you knew that it was a clone, but oh well. You are all three here to be tested by me. The rules of the test are simple. You will notice that on my belt I have two bells. Your objective is to get one. To get it, you have to fight me." Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei, why are there only two bells if there are three of us?" Sakura asked.

"I'm glad you asked Sakura. To be officially recognized as part of squad 7, you must be in possession of one of these bells. Which means that, for one of you, the ninja journey ends here. You will be sent back to the academy." Kakashi said. He didn't give them much time to really process what it was that he said.

"You have three hours to grab one of these bells. Your time starts now." Kakashi said and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto noticed that Sasuke and Sakura were about to shoot off, and Naruto knew that he had to stop them.

"Wait!" He said, though it came out a bit more forceful than he meant it to. Sasuke and Sakura both froze and looked at him, which caused Naruto to flush.

"What dobe? You're wasting time." Sasuke said, and Sakura just remained silent, silently waiting for whatever it was that Naruto needed to say.

"Iruka-sensei once told us that all of the genin squads were composed of three genins under the guidance of one jonin. If he sends one of us back to the academy, we wouldn't be a full team. There has to be another point to this test." Naruto said and they actually stopped and considered what Naruto was saying.

"Hmm… you're right. If it isn't really about getting the bells, then what could be the reason for the test?" Sakura mused, her forehead wrinkling slightly in thought. After a few beats, her expression softened a bit and her eyes cleared.

"I should have guessed. This must be about making us a better team. The two bells are there to try to drive a wedge between the three of us. If we were in it for ourselves and went at him one by one, there is no chance that we would come even close to one, but with all three of us working together, we would have a much better chance of it." She said. Naruto was impressed with her insight, but he knew that there was a reason that she had gotten the highest scores in the class, especially when it came to critical thinking.

"That makes a lot of sense. Ok, so what do we want to do about this?" Naruto asked, incredibly happy that they weren't looking at him like he was a monster, at least for that moment.

"I say we rush him and try to get around his defense to get those bells. The only way we are gonna learn to function as a team is if we get to know how one another think and act." Sasuke said, and Sakura nodded her head.

"All right. Let's do this." Naruto said. The three of them quickly started covering ground. Naruto was able to track the very minute disturbances that Kakashi must have purposely left behind. None of the three were even remotely fooled into thinking that Kakashi could have been so careless unless it was intentional.

Naruto didn't need to follow the nearly invisible signs, however. One of the first things that Hiruzen had taught him was how to read chakra flows from the body and pinpoint it. As such, he could tell that there were three different points where Kakashi's chakra was coming from.

Taking the lead, Naruto lead the three to the closest chakra point. They found him standing in a clearing with his nose in a book. He didn't twitch as they stopped on a tree branch at the edge of the clearing. Naruto noticed a flicker of movement, felt the air currents behind him and slightly to the left shift, got out a kunai, and thrust it behind himself. At first, Sakura and Sasuke were looking at him like he was crazy, but then they saw that Kakashi was right behind them and they shifted rapidly into attack formation. Kakashi had managed to avoid the kunai, but it left his guard down, and a clone that Naruto had sneakily made got up near Kakashi and was able to touch the bells. As Kakashi was distracted by that, Sasuke went and attacked Kakashi with a kunai, managing to get it imbedded in his side.

Their victory was short lived as Kakashi disappeared in another puff of smoke and a log was left in his place. Naruto sighed, already having figured that it would be a decoy. There was no way that it was going to be the first chakra point holding the real Kakashi.

"Well, at least we know that we can function well as a unit. I doubt that he will fall for something like that again." Sakura said, and both Naruto and Sasuke nodded their heads in agreement.

It took them over an hour and a half to track down Kakashi again, as he started hiding his chakra, so it was harder for Naruto to detect him. It was also harder for them to see the tracks on the ground, but eventually, they were able to follow a roundabout trail. It switched back on itself time and time again, which ate up at their time. They all knew that it was intentional, but they also knew that they had no chance on trying to find him by chance, so they begrudgingly followed the trail that Kakashi had left for them.

Finally, they found him in a bush. They approached stealthily and Kakashi had his back to them. They started advancing, but it was Sakura who realized that something was off. It took her a minute to figure out what it was, but when she did, she motioned for the other two to be on high alert.

"What's up?" Sasuke hissed at her, nervously glancing around them, expecting a trap from anywhere.

"There's something off about this. We've been taking our time, and in all of that, he hasn't taken a single breath." Sakura said. Naruto and Sasuke noticed that Kakashi's chest was indeed void of any movement.

They were just about to jump to the trees again when a hand suddenly emerged from the ground and grabbed Naruto's ankle, shocking them all. Naruto attempted to break free, but was unable to, and when Sakura tried to pry the fingers from Naruto's ankle, Kakashi's other hand shot up and snagged her as well.

As Sasuke was about to jump into the fray to help his teammates, another pair of arms snaked up and encased his ankles as well. Making a few hand signs, Sasuke took in a deep breath.

"Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed, blowing out his breath slowly. When his breath encountered the air, it combusted, sending a stream of fire down towards the hands, which disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke, showing remarkable control, aimed the fire at the other two and freed them from their bonds as well. Suddenly, everything around them turned slightly hazy, and they realized that the area had changed, and they were standing in the clearing that they had started at.

"Thanks, Sasuke." Sakura said, and Naruto inclined his head in thanks, scanning the environment for any more traps around. Upon seeing none, he got back into formation with the other two. They took off in pursuit of Kakashi once again, all of them paranoid beyond belief that they were walking into another trap.

As such, they noticed the almost invisible shimmer of a trip wire coming upon them. Once they noticed that one, they noticed that the entire way around them was a mess of wires and such. It was a veritable minefield that they had trapped themselves in. There were even trip wires behind them.

"Be careful. One wrong move and… well. We'll see." Kakashi's voice floated to them. Naruto felt slight anger that they were being underestimated.

"You really think that this enough to deter us! Shadow Clone jutsu!" Naruto said, making the hand sign. Several clones of Naruto appeared. Enough to protect the group of three with a few layers of bodies. He sent four clones out to trip as many of the wires as they could. With the press of bodies acting as a wall, they could hear the massive amounts of explosions, but they were unharmed. When they finally stopped hearing anything, Naruto dismissed the remaining clones and the trio got a glimpse of the destruction that the explosions had caused.

They were standing in a clearing where moments before there had been dense forest. Near the southern edge was Kakashi. He sighed and put away the book that he was reading, facing the group head on.

"I guess I won't be able to finish this chapter. You now have my undivided attention!" Kakashi said, settling into a crouch. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was in the center of the three. In a whirlwind of limbs, he sent the three scattering in different directions. Thankfully, because of the devastation from the traps, they didn't hit any trees on the way.

They all glanced at each other and seemed to have a silent discussion. Suddenly, Sasuke darted towards Kakashi who turned towards him, prepared for whatever it was that was coming his way. Sasuke pulled out a kunai knife and after a seconds' delay, threw it towards Kakashi. Kakashi sighed and easily dodged the blade. Kakashi expected to hear it hurtle past, but found that he heard it being caught by someone. Instead of turning around, Kakashi calculated where the blow would be coming from and dodged to his left, narrowly missing Sakura who held the kunai that Sasuke had thrown.

As soon as his body was moving, so was Sasuke's. Sasuke aimed a kick at Kakashi's head. By some contortion of his body, Kakashi avoided the blow and instead spun around and sent Sakura and Sasuke flying backwards once more. Staying in a crouch, he listened intently for any sounds that meant in incoming attack.

As Kakashi scanned his surroundings, he noticed that Naruto was nowhere to be seen, and that concerned him. All of a sudden, Naruto's arm shot from the ground and would have wrapped around Kakashi's ankle if the silver haired man hadn't jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, he jumped right into a trap that Sakura had set when Kakashi had been focused on Sasuke. Shuriken sprang into existence and rushed towards Kakashi, who just barely managed to ready a kunai and deflect them.

Just as Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were about to spring towards Kakashi, he made several hand signs, and the next instant that they touched the ground, they found that the ground didn't support them. They sank to their waists and the ground re-hardened, leaving them immobilized.

"This isn't fair Kakashi-sensei. We can't get the bells if you won't allow us to move." Naruto exclaimed.

"You've run out of time. It's been over three hours since we began." Kakashi said, and approached the three of them with a serious edge in his visible eye.

"You were unable to complete the task. Your punishment is... you pass!" Kakashi said, and the three of them blinked owlishly at him, all of them wondering if he had lost his mind.

"Umm… not that I'm unhappy that we passed, but what? We weren't able to get the bells." Sakura said and Kakashi's eye twinkled and the corner of his mask lifted slightly, a sure sign that he was smirking.

"You already figured it out yourself, or have you already forgotten. This test wasn't about the bells at all. This was about seeing if you guys could work past your differences and work together as a team. Suffice it to say, you all have passed." Kakashi said, releasing them from the ground.

"Well, I'm glad the we really don't need these then, huh?" Naruto said while smirking, holding up the two bells. Kakashi started and looked at his waist, finding that the bells were still there, but as he looked closely, he noticed that they didn't quite look right.

"How… when… wha?" Kakashi stuttered, causing Naruto to burst out laughing.

"I noticed the bells as soon as I noticed that you were in the bush. I was in a position that a little bit of light hit them and they glared briefly. I sent a shadow clone to get them unnoticed." Naruto said, smiling and wrapping his arms around the back of his neck. Sakura and Sasuke gaped at him, and for a second, Naruto lost his grin, hoping that they weren't going to be mad. To Naruto's surprise, Sakura giggled and burst out laughing, and even Sasuke smirked in mirth.

"Wow… you had them the entire time. Why didn't you just let us know?" Sakura asked.

"Because I knew that there had to be something more to this training than met the eye. A squad is only as strong as their weakest link, and I wanted to see if we could work together." Naruto said, and Sakura looked a bit sheepish, knowing that she had almost let her prejudice get in the way of working as a group.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was looking at Naruto contemplatively. Naruto couldn't tell if the look was a good or a bad one. After a brief moment, Sasuke returned to his usual disinterested glower and Naruto pushed it from his mind.

"Well… umm. You are all free to go. Meet at the Hokage Mansion two days from now at 8 in the morning." Kakashi said. Sakura and Sasuke sped off, and Naruto was about to do the same, but was stopped by Kakashi's voice.

"You might want to be a bit subtler when it comes to showing how much you can suddenly do. I don't think the Third would like it known that you are improving leaps and bounds ahead of the others." Kakashi said. Naruto glanced at him in shock.

"What do you know?" Naruto asked, and Kakashi smiled again.

"I was the one who brought you to the Third in the first place. You don't have to worry. Others will begin to wonder how you are improving so fast though, and it also makes you more of a target. There are many out there that would love nothing more than to get at the Kyuubi, no matter the cost." Kakashi said. He placed his hand on Naruto's should in a comforting manner. With that gesture, Naruto knew that Kakashi wasn't upset with him. He was just trying to give Naruto some advice.

"I understand. I'll be more careful from now on. Now, why did you let me take the bells? I know that I couldn't have snuck up on you that easily and gotten away with it." Naruto said.

"Because I wanted to see the others' reactions. Also, I wanted them to know that you were worthy of being on this team. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with you showing how far you've come along when it comes to this team, but we don't want anyone else to know. Sakura and Sasuke needed to know that you belong on the team." Kakashi said, and Naruto felt an unfamiliar sort of heat blossom in his chest. It took him a second to recognize it, but he realized that it was gratitude.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I think that I might actually be able to find a place in the village after all. I'll see you in two days." Naruto said and left with a genuine smile on his lips. Kakashi sighed, knowing that there was still a long way to go, but happy that some people were starting to see Naruto as an actual person.

As Naruto approached his apartment, he sensed the familiar chakra of Kiba and another smile graced his features, his gait speeding up slightly in anticipation of seeing his best friend.

True to his senses, Naruto found Kiba leaning against the railing near the front door of his apartment, Akamaru resting on top of his head. Naruto took a second to admire the easy way in which Kiba held himself. Akamaru raised he head, sniffed slightly, and yipped. Kiba glanced to right where Naruto was and smiled, one of his overgrown canines poking out slightly. Naruto felt his pulse quicken a bit and was able to fight off a blush.

 _'Why does his look make me feel so… special? Like I'm the only person he is excited to see? I know it's all in my head but… I like it. The way he makes me feel.'_ Naruto thought, coming to land in front of Kiba.

"Hey Naru. How was training?" Kiba asked, using the nickname that he had given Naruto shortly after they had met each other.

"It was good. We passed and are now truly officially genin. Hi Akamaru." Naruto said, rubbing the spot where Akamaru's ears connected with the rest of his head. Akamaru's eyes closed and he leaned further into the touch. Naruto focused on Kiba again and saw that he was smiling softly at him with a look of pure adoration in his eyes. Naruto gulped slightly, and his skin felt slightly feverish.

"Well, I came by because I wanted to see if you wanted to just hang out for a bit?" Kiba asked.

"I'd love to." Naruto said softly, and Kiba smiled at him again. Naruto took a shuddering breath and turned towards his door. He was battling an unknown desire, and he didn't know what would happen if he were to let it consume him. To distract himself, he busied himself with unlocking his door.

"Let me just put away my stuff and I'll be good to go." Naruto said. He vanished into his house, and Kiba just waited outside for him, knowing it wouldn't take long.

Just as Kiba thought, Naruto soon emerged from his apartment, making sure to shut and lock his door. He turned to Kiba and flashed him a bright smile.

"All right, so where are we going?" Naruto asked, watching Kiba push himself away from the railing.

"Nowhere in particular. I just thought it would be nice to just hang out for a while. I didn't really have a destination in mind." Kiba admitted sheepishly. Naruto found it adorable and chuckled.

"Well, let's just wander around then!" Naruto said and Kiba smiled, walking alongside Naruto as they began walking around.

They didn't need to talk much. They already knew most everything about each other. They let silence reign for the most part, both of them just enjoying being near with the other. They stayed out for a while. It wasn't until it started to get dark that Naruto sighed, knowing that he was going to have to go home soon.

"I've gotta go Kiba. It's getting dark. Thanks for hanging out with me. I… really enjoyed it." Naruto said, more emotion in his voice than usual. Kiba was slightly surprised by this, but approached Naruto and wrapped him in a hug. Naruto immediately reciprocated, and they stayed in their embrace for a long moment, neither quite willing to break contact quite yet.

Kiba walked with Naruto as they make their way to Naruto's house. As they were almost there, they were stopped by two people in long black cloaks with red cloud designs on them. Naruto could feel the malice rolling off of them and knew that something bad was about to happen. Kiba apparently noticed something was up with them as well. Naruto could see how Kiba's hair bristled and stood on end, but it did little to make him seem like a threat when compared with the two they were facing.

"Kiba, I think you should go." Naruto said lowly, keeping his eyes locked on the two figures, who were just watching impassively. For now.

"I'm not going to leave you Naruto." Kiba replied quietly, settling into a battle stance. Naruto knew that neither of them had a chance against these two. He could feel their chakra reserves, and they were immense.

"The orange kid looks to be our little jinchuuriki." The left figure said. He was taller than the one on the right. They both had straw hats on that hid their identity, but Naruto knew that even if he could have seen their faces, he wouldn't know who they were.

"It would appear so. And he has a friend with him. How… unfortunate for him." The shorter said, his body blurring. Naruto instinctively stepped in front of Kiba, his body blocking the kunai that was going right for Kiba. Naruto didn't even feel the pain, more worried with making sure that Kiba got away.

Naruto looked at Kiba and saw the horror on his face. Naruto tried to smile, and he could feel liquid seep out of the corner of his mouth.

"Go Kiba… They want me, not you." Naruto said, resting his forehead lightly on Kiba's. Kiba took a shuddering breath and decided that he needed to go find help. Now.

Kiba ran and the taller was about to give chase before the shorter stopped him with a look. Looking disgruntled, the taller stayed.

"You're coming with us." The shorter said. Naruto got a brief glimpse of red eyes under the straw hat before all he knew was blackness.

Kiba was rushing around frantically, trying his hardest to locate someone who would help. It wasn't very long before he saw Kakashi walking towards him with his nose back in his book. Kiba ran up to him, gasping for breath and trying keep his sanity in control. Kakashi took one look at Kiba and immediately became alert.

"What's the matter?" He asked sharply, getting Kiba's attention.

"There were these two robed figures and Naruto, and then there was blood, and I ran to find help, and oh Kami, Naruto!" Kiba babbled, but Kakashi got the gist.

"Go find the Third. Now!" Kakashi commanded, and Kiba moved to comply, Kakashi blurring away and searching desperately for Naruto's chakra signature.

It took him almost ten grueling minutes to pick up the slightest trace of Naruto. He gave a start at the chakra signatures of the other two people that were near him and a full body shiver racked his body.

"No… why now?" Kakashi whispered and briefly considered waiting for back-up, but his decision was made for him a second later. He felt Naruto's chakra spike, and then… nothing. The implications made Kakashi's blood turn to ice in his veins.

When Kakashi got to the scene, he saw Naruto lying in a pool of blood with who Kakashi knew was Itachi Uchiha standing over him. He looked around to try to spot Itachi's partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. He found him passed out slightly to the left of the gruesome scene.

"Hello Kakashi. It's been a while." Itachi said evenly, and Kakashi closed his visible eye, lifting the headband to reveal a startling blood red eye with three marks arranged in a circle around the pupil. His eye socket was scarred with a knife slash that ran down it and to his cheek.

"That won't be necessary. I even knocked out Kisame for you. I came to warn you about a group known as the Akatsuki. They are rounding up the jinchuuriki and drawing the beasts out of their hosts. You and I both know what will happen if the beast is forcibly removed. Now, I need to leave before your reinforcements arrive." Itachi said, collecting Kisame's body, picking it up as if it weighed absolutely nothing.

Kakashi was on high alert, watching for even the slightest hint of trickery. However, they both disappeared and Kakashi could feel their chakra signatures disappearing rapidly, as well as several that were approaching. Several members of the ANBU suddenly appeared and took in the scene.

"What happened here?" A voice demanded, and Kakashi shook himself out of his stupor. He looked towards Naruto and grabbed him, noting how pale he was and how weak his pulse was.

"I need to take him to the healers. I'll report to the Third. You are dismissed." Kakashi said in a tone of voice that did NOT allow any room for arguing. The masked nin bowed and they disappeared, though Kakashi knew that they stayed close, just in case there was another threat. Kakashi was thankful for that.

Kakashi made sure that Naruto made it to the hospital and that he was in good care before he made his way to the Hokage mansion. He was met outside by the Third.

"Sir, we need to speak in private." Kakashi said dryly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"I suppose we do. Very well. Follow me." The Third said and led Kakashi down to the ANBU headquarters, leading them both to one of the few silencing rooms that the ANBU had. The silencing rooms were used mainly for interrogation. There was no way out unless the people outside let them out, as it was a chakra absorption room. Not only this, but when sealed, it trapped any noise inside.

In short, it was the perfect place for some privacy so that their discussions weren't eavesdropped upon. Kakashi was both surprised and unsurprised to find that Kiba was there, pale and shaking slightly with a dazed look in his eye.

"What happened Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked seriously and Kiba jumped at the unexpected noise.

"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki entered the village. Their target was apparently Naruto." Kakashi said, afraid to say more because Kiba was there, but the Third sighed.

"It can't be helped. Kiba, I know that you are a loyal member of Konohagakure, so I must ask you, for the sake of the entire village, that you keep what happens here a secret. I would rather not have to put a seal on you, but I will if I must." Hiruzen said seriously. Kiba understood the meaning, and gulped.

"I… I won't say a word… Please Kakashi sensei, is Naruto okay?" Kiba asked in a small voice, looking towards Kakashi. Kakashi wished that he had better news to give Kiba, but he wasn't going to lie to him.

"He is with the healers now. Naruto is remarkably strong. It's in his hands now." Kakashi said. Hiruzen watched the way that Kiba's face tightened in fear for his friend's life.

"Well, this is going to be a long night. You might want to take a seat Kakashi, we won't be leaving here for a while." Hiruzen said.

"I assume that since you are here and Naruto is at the hospital that Itachi let Naruto go?" Hiruzen asked, and Kakashi nodded his head.

"I don't understand why though. Their goal was obviously Naruto, Itachi himself said so. Why did he just let him go like that. It doesn't sound like the Itachi that would murder his entire clan." Kakashi said, having some guesses as to the reason, but wanting to hear it from Hiruzen.

"Itachi was and has always been a member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He has sacrificed more than anyone has a right to, and if it were anyone else, he would forsake the village to its' fate. Itachi did kill everyone in his clan, but he didn't do so without permission. We had learned that the Uchiha clan was planning an uprising, and there were members of the council that thought the Uchihas had grown too powerful. They suggested that we slaughter the clan, and I was unable to dissuade them. Itachi volunteered for the job, knowing that it would ostracize him from the village, from everything that he had known, forever. He did the mission anyway with the condition that Sasuke, his little brother, be spared." Hiruzen said and paused, letting Kakashi absorb this new information.

"Itachi… did all of that? Why… why would anyone label him as a criminal?" Kiba asked in a small voice, almost afraid that he would be reproached for saying anything. His fears were unfounded though, as Hiruzen just looked kindly at him.

"He knew that he could be valuable to the village as an informant. He joined organizations that would try to harm the Leaf village and, with his help, we have been able to thwart many disasters. Even now, he gives his everything to his village." Hiruzen said, and it was clear that there was intense respect from the Hokage towards Itachi.

"Then… what he told me about an organization called the Akatsuki should be heeded. He said that they were collecting the jinchuuriki and forcibly extracting the bijuu from their bodies. He didn't say what it was for, but it can't be anything good. That's why they were here. For the Nine Tails in Naruto." Kakashi said, forgetting that Kiba was in the room.

"No one sees Naruto as anything other than a monster, do they? Blind, arrogant assholes!" Kiba exclaimed, startling both Kakashi and Hiruzen, who turned shocked eyes towards him, making him shrink. Hiruzen only smiled at him.

"Naruto is lucky to have a friend like you Kiba. You're right. Too many people see Naruto as nothing more than a monster or as a means to an end. They never stop to think that Naruto is a person with feelings, just like anyone else." Hiruzen said sadly.

"Well, if they would just give him a chance, they'd see that they are being idiots and see how wonderful he is!" Kiba said.

"In time, perhaps. Now, back to the matter at hand. This news is troubling indeed… We should let the other villages know, but it's a risk. They'll want to know where we got the information. We can't let them know the true source, but once their jinchuuriki start disappearing, they will think that we're responsible. This needs to be handled with tact. I'll think on how to best approach the situation. In the meantime, Kiba, you are dismissed. Remember what I said about things needing to stay quiet." Hiruzen said, and Kiba nodded his head. An ANBU member appeared to escort Kiba to his home, and it was just Kakashi and Hiruzen.

"Why did you let him stay when you knew that such… classified information was going to be shared?" Kakashi asked. Hiruzen sighed.

"Because he needs to know what kind of danger Naruto is in. Naruto is incredibly strong, but he doesn't need to face this alone. Kiba is good for him, and now I am going to include him in the training with Naruto. They need to be ready for anything." Hiruzen mused, and Kakashi felt his head swimming with all of the new information bouncing around in his brain.

"I will want to see Kiba tomorrow. If you could collect him around 9. Inform his mother as well. I don't need her and Kuromaru poking their noses around." Hiruzen said, though not unkindly. Kakashi bowed and knew that he was dismissed.

He could only hope that Naruto would be okay.

He could only hope that nothing had happened to leave him permanently scarred.


	8. Spiraling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the eighth chapter. I know that it's a bit shorter than the last one by at least half, but I felt that since this is such a quick upload, it would be okay. I promise that the next chapter will be a bit longer. Let me know what you think of the chapter.

Tsume was understandably furious. However, when she tried to forbid Kiba from seeing Naruto, Kiba went off on her.

"Do you have any idea what that would do to him?! He trusts me more than anyone else in the world, and I trust him! I don't care if my life is in danger by being around him! I WON'T betray his trust like that!" Kiba said, and Tsume was taken aback by the force of his words. She tried to talk to him soothingly, trying to calm him down, and it seemed to her like it worked. He grew still and calm. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, Tsume very nearly took a step back at the fire hidden in their depths.

"I will tell you this once, and once only. He is my friend, and I will not abandon him. I am my own person, and you have no right to forbid me from seeing anyone." Kiba said in a soft voice that did absolutely nothing to mask the finality in his tone. It scared her.

"As long as you live under my roof you will do as I say." Tsume said in an equally soft voice. Without missing a beat, her son replied.

"Then as of now, consider me no longer a member of this household." He said, and Tsume knew that he meant it. Alarm rapidly shot through her system.

"I'm your mother. You are a part of the Inuzuka clan, and as leader of the clan, I forbid you from seeing Naruto Uzumaki!" Tsume said, the fear evident in her voice. Kiba's eyes softened in understanding of his mother's position.

"Then I'm no longer part of the Inuzuka clan. I will not be bullied into turning my back on one of the most important people in my life." Kiba said even more softly than before. His mom just stood there in shock and even a little bit of pride.

"You… you can't… What about us? We're your family. Do we really mean so little to you that you would turn your back on us?" She asked him.

"Do I really mean so little to you that you can't see that I want him to be a part of my life no matter the consequences? Do my feelings on the matter mean so little?" Kiba countered and walked away before his composure crumbled.

Tsume didn't even try to stop him. She felt rooted to the floor, and could only think one thing.

_'What have I done?'_

Kiba made his way to the hospital, desperately needing to see if Naruto was okay. He wanted so badly to go the previous night, but he wasn't able to get in as visitor times had ended. The tattooed male had spent the rest of the night tossing in his bed, constantly being awoken by nightmares of his friend being brutally murdered. And then the whole fiasco with his mom had happened, and he was feeling shaken.

Even with the fight with his mom, he still made it to the hospital too early. The nurse inside saw him and took a bit of pity on him, letting him in early. He thanked her profusely, and asked where Naruto's room was. The nurse wrinkled her nose slightly in what Kiba knew was disgust and the tattooed make had to stamp down his anger at the unfairness of the way that people treated the blond. She told Kiba and then he was off, anxious to see his friend.

When Kiba got to the door, he paused when his hand touched the handle. He realized that he was afraid of what he was going to walk into. He so badly wanted Naruto to be alright, but he knew that reality rarely lived up to wishes. Taking a deep breath, he twisted the handle and walked in. He was greeted by the steady beeping of a heart monitor and, upon closer examination, the cerulean depths of Naruto's eyes.

"Hey Kibbles. How are you doing?" Naruto asked smiling softly. Kiba opened his mouth to respond and all that came out was a strangled sound. He felt wet tracks on his face and choked slightly on a sob threatening to escape his throat. Naruto's face twisted into immediate concern, and the jinchuuriki panicked slightly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, truly not knowing what could have caused such a reaction. Kiba took two hesitant steps towards the blond and when Naruto opened his arms for a hug, Kiba threw himself into the embrace, being mindful enough to not injure the blond further.

No words were needed yet. Naruto was patient and he knew that at that moment, all his friend needed was physical contact. The blond was happy to help him. He felt that it was the least he could do for everything that the Inuzuka had done for him.

As time went on, Kiba's tears lessened. When they stopped completely, he sighed, though neither he nor Naruto lessened their hold on the other.

"I'm here for you if you need to talk." Naruto said and Kiba knew that he wasn't needed to say what had gone on. Naruto wouldn't push him. He was thankful for that.

"I was… so scared that you weren't going to be okay. Why Naruto? Why would you jump in front of that kunai?" Kiba asked and his voice sounded lost.

"I did it because you… you're here and people care about you. People other than me. If you were to… not make it, more people would be hurt. If I were to die, no one other than you would really care." Naruto said haltingly, hoping that he hadn't said too much.

"I don't care how many people actually give you the time of day. If you weren't here, then I'd be… lost. I need you Naruto. I don't want you to throw your life away just because you don't think anyone will care." Kiba said, snuggling his head underneath Naruto's chin.

From his new position, Kiba could hear the blond's heartbeat. It relaxed the Inuzuka and made him realize that, even though terrible things had happened, even though he may have renounced his clan, as long as he could keep hearing that heartbeat, things would be okay. Kiba made the decision there to not tell Naruto about the fact that he wasn't part of the Inuzuka clan anymore. He didn't want to give the jinchuuriki further reason to hate himself.

They stayed in their embrace until both of their stomachs rumbled loudly, causing both of them to jerk in surprise. They were quick to laugh about it, thankful to have the ability to actually laugh despite everything that had happened to them.

"I'll go track us down some food. You stay here and rest, okay?" Kiba said and got up. He immediately missed the warmth of being next to Naruto and hearing his heartbeat. He frowned at how cold and alone he suddenly felt, as he had left Akamaru at the Inuzuka Compound. He hated to leave his new buddy there, especially because he was a gift from Naruto, but he knew that he was going to have a hard enough time as it was trying to keep himself going. He didn't want to drag Akamaru down with him.

The brunette went to the cafeteria and grabbed some rice bowls and, because he knew that it was Naruto's favorite, ramen. He paid for the food and realized that he was really going to need to go on some missions ASAP and probably pick up a job in the village to make sure that he had enough to eat. He sighed, knowing life was going to be difficult for a bit.

He got back to Naruto's room and saw the blonds' face light up at the sight and smell of the ramen. They tucked in and consumed the food quickly, their hunger getting the better of them.

"Not as good as Ichiraku ramen, but still. Even when ramen is bad, it's still pretty good!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, some pep entering his body for the first time since Kiba had gotten there. Kiba smiled too, but even Naruto could tell that he was… distracted for lack of a better term.

"Okay, something is still up with you Kiba. I won't force you to say anything, but I will say that it might make you feel better." Naruto said with such concern that it melted Kiba's heart a bit. Kiba climbed into Naruto's arms again, blushing lightly as he did so.

 _'Make me feel better, maybe, but it would devastate you… I can't do that.'_ Kiba thought. He was about to tell Naruto that everything was fine, but he never got the chance. As he opened his mouth, the door flew open, banging against the opposite wall with a resounding crack.

"You put my son in danger! I have half a mind to strike you down now. Unhand my son!" Tsume Inuzuka snarled. Kuromaru, who was on her left, barred his teeth in aggression. Naruto was looking at the two in shock and more than a little hurt. He had begun to trust Kiba's family. To treat him with the same kind of hate that everyone else had _now_ hurt more than anyone else calling him that before. Kiba was furious.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Kiba growled menacingly. Tsume didn't even seem to hear him. Her entire focus was centered on a rapidly paling Naruto.

"You took my son from me! I WON'T say it again. Let him go now!" She said, and Naruto was just frozen, trying to think about what it was that had happened. He looked at Kiba in confusion.

"What is she talking about Kiba? What did I do?" He asked. Kiba looked at him guiltily.

"You didn't do anything. I chose what _I_ wanted. Don't make this about anyone but you and me mother." Kiba said, desperately hoping that she would drop the subject. He wasn't very lucky.

"Oh so you didn't tell him, huh? I tried to forbid Kiba from seeing you because you aren't good for him. It was you those two men were after, not him! So what does he do? He renounces all ties to his clan. All because of you!" She said and Naruto, if possible, paled even further.

"You… you didn't." He whispered, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. Kiba was shaking slightly from being too worked up. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that he was having trouble coping with it all.

"I will not let her bully me into never seeing you again." Kiba said adamantly, and Naruto took a shuddering breath.

"But they are your family! Your blood! I'm a nobody!" Naruto said, tears falling slowly down his cheeks. Kiba's blood ran cold at hearing this. Tsume stopped baring her teeth menacingly, a look of confusion on her face.

"You are not a nobody and you deserve better than my so-called family treating you like you are worse than the dirt on the bottom of their shoe." Kiba replied vehemently. Naruto didn't seem to be listening.

In truth, Naruto had retreated deep within himself, finding himself back in the dank and damp corridor that he knew would lead him to the cage that held the Kyuubi.

"What do you want?" The nine tails asked when Naruto approached the cage. Naruto looked up at him and even he was taken aback at the scorching helplessness in Naruto's eyes.

"I… I need help. I don't… know what to do. Please, help me this once…" Naruto said in a broken tone, full of so much pain that the Kyuubi could physically feel it. He had never felt Naruto in this much pain, and he searched through Naruto's memories of the past few moments.

"Ah. I see." Kyuubi said. And he did see. He saw more than Naruto did, but he wouldn't be the one to reveal what Naruto and Kiba were blind to.

"Please. What can I do to make this right? I can't… take him from his family. It would be better for him if he had never met me." Naruto said, and Kyuubi sighed.

"Do you really mean that? That he would be better off without you?" The nine tails asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes. I'm not… good for him, just like she said. If he stays near me, he is going to wind up dead, and I can't… handle that." He replied. The Kyuubi extended one claw toward Naruto. The whiskered boy didn't flinch, not even when the claw came into contact with his forehead. There was a flash of orange light and Naruto was assaulted with a host of new information about a new jutsu.

With a shuddering breath, Naruto refocused on the current scene with Tsume and Kiba. He could physically feel the anger rolling off of Tsume, and the pain from his friend. It hurt him beyond words to know that he was the cause of all of that. He knew what he was about to do, and the implications of it sent him spiraling into a black depression, and he started crying profusely.

Tsume, for her part, was confused. Why would this so called monster all of a sudden break down into tears, unless he was trying to mess with her mind? She trusted her nose implicitly, knowing that it had never let her down before, and her nose was telling her that the grief was genuine. She had expected Naruto to be happy that his friend was putting him first, but if she didn't know better, she would think that Naruto was anything but happy about it.

Naruto looked at Kiba, memorizing his face and taking it all in.

"Thank you for being my best friend for so long. You've given me a reason to be alive, and I'm in your debt. I know that I can never repay you for that, but maybe this will help." Naruto said, forming hand signs with blinding speed. The chakra buildup that was coming from Naruto was immense.

Kiba didn't know what was going on, he just knew that it was most likely not going to be something that he was going to like. Tsume was going to attack Naruto, fearing for the safety of her sons' life, but Kuromaru, surprisingly, stopped her. She took a look at him and he just simply shook his head as if telling her not to interfere.

The blond placed his hand on Kiba's forehead, closing his eyes. The whole process took only a couple of seconds, and Naruto slumped back onto the bed fainting. Kiba's eyes rolled back into his head and he would have fallen off of the bed if Tsume hadn't caught him and hauled him away from the blond.

Kiba regained consciousness after a couple of seconds and looked around in confusion. He saw his mom and then he saw Naruto.

"Mom, what are we doing at the hospital? And who is he?"


	9. Repercussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to take this time to thank you for reading this story. I went back through the older chapters and read through them. I didn't change much, but I did do a bit of proof reading. I hope that you guys continue to enjoy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was… concerned to put it lightly. He had felt the massive chakra spike that came from Naruto when he had completed the jutsu on Kiba. He and a team of ANBU who remained hidden went to investigate and found Tsume looking rattled and Kiba looking very confused.

"What happened here?" Hiruzen asked and Tsume jerked a bit. She motioned for them to talk privately and the Third raised an eyebrow but allowed her to pull him aside. Kiba made to follow.

"I need to talk to the Third alone. Go back to the compound. Akamaru is worried about you." Tsume said and Kiba smacked his forehead.

"Of course. I gotta go check on him! See you at home mom!" He said with a grin and raced off. Hiruzen noted that he didn't so much as look at Naruto who was still unconscious.

"Kuro, get there first and explain things to Akamaru. We don't need this spiraling out of control." Tsume said and Kuromaru was off.

"I'm beginning to lose patience Tsume. What. Happened?" Hiruzen asked, just barely refraining from gritting his teeth. He thought of Naruto as his own kin. He was very protective of him, and he had a dreadful feeling that something life altering had happened.

"When Kakashi told me what happened, I realized something. Naruto is not good for Kiba. He is going to get my son killed. I tried to forbid Kiba from seeing Naruto, and he… didn't like that. He… renounced his ties to the clan when I tried to pull rank on him. I found him here snuggled up in that... _boys'_ arms and I told him to let go of my son. Kiba hadn't told Naruto about him leaving the clan, so I did. Naruto… he got really pale and then he did a bunch of hand signs that were too fast for even me to see and touched Kiba on the forehead. They both passed out and when Kiba came to, he didn't seem to… remember who Naruto even was." She explained, slowly getting quieter as she saw how angry Hiruzen was getting.

"Let me guess. Naruto was appalled by the fact that Kiba had left the clan because he felt that he wasn't even worth the time of day, huh? What that _boy,_ as you call him, did was to override Kiba's memory of him. To Kiba, it'll be like Naruto never existed. I'll be surprised if Naruto ever lets anyone in like Kiba again." Hiruzen stated in a barely controlled voice, and Tsume felt a little sickened by the implications, though she still felt justified for trying to keep her son out of danger.

"How did he do that? Why?" She asked. She had believed that Naruto was going to fight her just as hard as Kiba did, if not more so. Unbeknownst to the two, Naruto's eyes slowly opened.

"My best guess is that the nine tails helped him. As for why… if you truly love someone, you'll let them go, no matter the personal sacrifice. Naruto let Kiba go. He doesn't want to see Kiba get hurt any more than you do." He said gravely, and Naruto felt his stomach turn to writhing snakes.

 _'Love… I love Kiba, don't I? That's what that strange feeling was...'_ Naruto thought, and fresh tears made their way down his face. He almost missed what it was that Hiruzen said next, he was so caught up in his own revelation.

"The life of a ninja is fraught with peril Tsume. You know this as well as anyone. I'm not without reason or compassion. I had already planned to take Kiba under my wing and to train him personally so that he could weather this storm _alongside_ Naruto as his friend and confidante, someone who Naruto could open up to like no one else. Now, that choice has been taken from all of us. However unintentional this outcome may have been, you may have irrevocably damaged Naruto's life. You have to live with that." Hiruzen said with all of the weight of the world. Tsume floundered a bit.

"Well if we tell Kiba about this he can remember. Everything will work out!" She said, finally fully comprehending what had happened. Unexpectedly, Naruto let out a hysterical laugh. Both Hiruzen and Tsume started at the sound and looked at the blond. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and a crazed smile on his face.

"You don't get it. What I've done is permanent. Kiba won't ever regain those memories! And you were right. I'm no good for him. I'm no good for anyone." Naruto said getting quieter and more reserved as he went on.

"I'm… I'm so sorry Naruto… I…" Tsume said, at a loss for words. She knew that nothing she said would come close to repairing the damage that she had done.

"When do we get back to training sensei?" Naruto asked in a voice devoid of emotion. Hiruzen shuddered a bit, unused to hearing someone who was, by all accounts, dead inside.

"When you get better Naruto." He replied and Naruto got up out of the bed. He pulled his I.V. out and took off the wires leading to the heart monitor. A couple of seconds later, he stood in front of Hiruzen. His eyes were dull.

"Then let's go." He said and walked past the two.

"You have to rest Naruto! You lost a lot of blood last night! We just put the stitches in four hours ago." Hiruzen said alarmed. Naruto turned to him and lifted the hospital shirt he had. Where the night before he had a deep wound from the kunai, now all he had was unblemished skin. Even the stitches were gone. Without saying anything, Naruto kept walking.

Tsume left the two of them and went to find her son, hoping that Kuromaru had gotten there before Kiba did. What she didn't expect was to have an entourage of some of the nin-dogs waiting for her. There was Taiki, Haru, Takihiro, and Juro there. Taiki was a large sandy brown dog with a black tipped tail. Takihiro was a grey dog with white streaked in his fur. Haru was a russet brown dog all through except for his belly that was a lighter red. Juro was a striking silver dog with black stripes going down her sides in an intricate pattern.

"We need to talk." Taiki said, the other dogs nodding their heads in affirmation. the tone broached no room for argument and, under normal circumstances, Tsume would have been livid that she was being talked to so disrespectfully, but she was too rattled to take much notice.

"What's going on with Kiba? He came home just a bit ago and he is different. He smelled heavily of Naruto, but when we asked how the blond was, he didn't seem to know who we were talking about." Taiki asked.

"I… made a mistake. I was scared that Kiba was going to be hurt if he stayed with Naruto. I tried to forbid him, he left the clan, and when I found him at the hospital with Naruto, I let it out that he had left the clan. Naruto overrode Kiba's memories of him, saying that I had been right when I said that Naruto wasn't good for him but-" Tsume said, but was cut off by a warning growl that rippled through all four of the dogs throats. Their hair stood on end and they looked furious.

"That boy has no family! How could you even think of saying something so cruel to another human being! You know better than anyone that he is not the _demon_ that the rest of these idiots in the village take him for and you still went and said something like that? The boy is thirteen fucking years old! How would you feel if Kiba had to live even a fraction of the life that Naruto has?" Haru asked with venom in his voice. Tsume flinched and fought the urge to shrink in shame.

"I... thought that I was protecting Kiba... I didn't know it would come to this!" Tsume said, horrified to hear her voice crack. She hastened to contain her emotions and was only partially successful.

"Kiba had his own say in the matter! You did not listen to him and you tried to force your will on him! That will be what will cause him to get hurt because he will become rebellious and he will no longer respect you as a parent, or even as a person. You cannot force someone to go against their heart like that unless you want to see them miserable." Takahiro said a bit more gently, but no less firmly. They could smell the sorrow and regret coming from Tsume and knew that even though she had acted rashly, she never meant for this kind of outcome.

"I know. I wish I could take it back, but what Naruto did is permanent. He knew that and he still did it. I..." Tsume was at a loss for words and the four dogs left her to brood on what she had done and to try to find a way to even somewhat atone.

While Tsume was talking with the nindogs, Kiba was in his room playing with Akamaru, who was distracted.

"Hey Kiba, where did you get me?" Akamaru asked innocently enough, and Kiba looked at the ceiling in thought. After a moment he looked back at Akamaru with a fond smile.

"Hana and mom gave you to me on my birthday, don't you remember? Maybe you were too young to remember now. I remember the sun being so yellow and the sky being so blue... Bluer than I've ever seen it." Kiba said nostalgically, though Akamaru knew that it had been a rather overcast day. He wondered where Kiba had pulled those two descriptions from.

Akamaru was torn. He had been told by Kuromaru that Kiba no longer remembered who Naruto was. He didn't want that. He liked Naruto and he knew that Kiba was fond of him as well, and that they made each other happy. Kiba didn't seem upset, but Akamaru could only guess as to what Naruto was feeling. He subtly shuddered.

* * *

Naruto finally made it to the ANBU headquarters, Hiruzen right behind him. Neither of them spoke. There were no words that needed to be said. Hiruzen knew that there was nothing he could say that would help in their current situation, and Naruto knew that anything he had to say at the moment would be cynical and jaded so he said nothing.

"We're going to find out what your chakra element is. Take this piece of paper, hold it between your thumb and index finger, and direct your chakra into it. Based on the reaction, we will know what element, or elements you have an affinity for." The Third said, holding out a square of paper.

As soon as Naruto touched it, the piece of paper split in half, and a half second later, the halves drooped as if under a great deal of added weight. Naruto could feel it getting wet and he looked at Hiruzen.

"You have an affinity for the water and wind elements. It isn't everyone who has an affinity for two elements, and you couldn't choose two better elements. Water is a strong defense and can be a good offense. If you think about it, you can use water to cushion things coming at you, but you can also use it to erode through things. Wind is great for offense. You use your chakra and use it like a fine razor, or you can use it as a concussive blast. I can teach you the Syrup trap jutsu and the Gale Palm jutsu so that you can get a feel for the two elements and we will take it from there." Hiruzen said and Naruto nodded. They got to training intensely.

If Hiruzen had thought that Naruto was a fast learner before, he found that Naruto when completely focused on the task right in front of him was an impressive sight indeed. Jutsu after jutsu, technique after technique, Naruto mastered. It got to the point where Hiruzen had trouble keeping up. The blond was just going and going, not even stopping to eat or anything. It was frightening Hiruzen a bit.

"All right, that's enough for today. Go home and get some rest. I understand that you are needed tomorrow by Kakashi." Hiruzen said and Naruto bowed stiffly but respectfully to the older man and made his way back to the surface without uttering a word. He showed no signs of having done something strenuous, though the Sandaime could feel that he was panting for breath.

As Naruto was making his way back home, a familiar bark distracted him and he glanced over, seeing Kiba with his arms behind his head and Akamaru trailing on the ground. The white puppy was looking directly at the jinchuuriki and Kiba looked like he had not a care in the world. Naruto felt his eyes prick with the threat of tears, though he refused to let them fall. Naruto just turned his back on the two and tried to make it towards his apartment while looking as casual as possible.

"Wait!" A voice said. A voice that Naruto knew too well. His back straightened in shock and he schooled his expression into a blank mask. Try as he might, he couldn't get his legs to work. Hoping against hope that the Inuzuka was asking for someone else to wait, Naruto waited with bated breath. Luck was not on his side, like usual, and Kiba entered his field of view.

"Hey, you're the one from the hospital! What was all of that about?" Kiba asked. Naruto found himself desperately wishing for Kiba to look at him with the warmth that he had come to know, but it was gone. He didn't look at Naruto like he was a piece of trash, but he didn't really look like he would go out of his way to try to get to know him either.

"I'm sorry. Do we know each other? You must be confusing me with someone else." Naruto said coolly and moved to go around Kiba. Akamaru gave a quick yip and suddenly, Kiba's hand was wrapped around Naruto's upper arm.

"You're... Naruto, right? For some reason, some people think that I know you. Do I?" Kiba asked, and Naruto forced himself not to look at Kiba, already feeling the tears trailing down his cheeks.

"Again, I think that you have the wrong person. Have a good day." The blond said with only the faintest of warbles to his voice. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that the Kiba could smell much better than he would believe. Even tears have a scent, subtle as it was.

"... I'm sorry if I did something wrong. I didn't mean to make you cry. Maybe I'll see you around." Kiba said softly and let go of Naruto. Naruto was rooted to the spot for a few moments, trying to get himself under control. When he looked around, he realized that Kiba was nowhere to be found. He wiped his eyes, took a shaky breath, and forged on towards his house.

"What is going on?" Kiba asked Akamaru seriously.

"What do you mean?" Akamaru asked, though he pretty much knew what his partner was getting at.

"I mean with that guy. He seemed so... sad. What could have happened to bring someone down that much? He seemed pretty sure that he didn't know me, but I could tell that he wasn't being completely truthful. I'm sure that I would remember him if I knew him, so what's going on?" Kiba asked, not liking the fact that he was in the dark about something. Akamaru knew that he wasn't going to be able to lie, so he did the next best thing.

"I can't say anything. I don't know all of the details, and I don't want to give you any false info. Trust me on this Kiba, please?" Akamaru asked and Kiba smiled, scratching him behind the ears. Right where Naruto would pet him.

"All right, I trust you. I trust you with my life." Kiba said, and that was that.

Naruto made it to his apartment in record time and quickly made it inside. He let out a breath that he didn't even know that he was holding, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His apartment was now officially the one place that he felt safe. Outside, he could run into Kiba at any moment. He could be cornered by Kakashi or Hiruzen and have to force himself to hold onto a mask that was becoming near impossible to keep in place. In his home, he could let everything slip and show.

To try to keep his mind off of Kiba and to try to exhaust himself so much that he would be able to sleep without any dreams, Naruto started to work out. He went from crunches to push-ups to pull-ups to everything that he could think of. He even went so far as to see how long he could hang from the ceiling, which took a lot of concentration. He had to make sure that he always applied the same amount of chakra flow evenly over the bottoms of his feet to make sure that he stuck without doing any damage to the ceiling or without slipping off.

He spent a good five hours on nothing but physical and grueling activity. His muscles felt like jelly and he was afraid that he wasn't going to be able to walk in the morning, but his mind was blessedly clear for the moment. He took a look outside of his window and saw that it was already dark. He realized that he hadn't eaten anything since the hospital, but anytime he thought of food, he felt his stomach turn unpleasantly. Shaking his head, he decided to turn in early.

Thankfully, he did indeed work his body to the point where it couldn't find the energy to subject the blond to any dreams. Naruto woke up just before his alarm went off and he went through the ritual of making sure that he was ready for what the day may bring. At least physically.

Naruto went to the meeting spot to wait for everyone to arrive. Sasuke, once again, was the first to arrive after Naruto. They inclined their heads towards one another, acknowledging the presence of the other, but content with the silence. Sakura, when she arrived, surprised Naruto by standing directly in front of him with her hands on her hips. She looked in his eyes with a contemplative look on her face. Finally, she lowered her eyes and her shoulders drooped.

"I owe you an apology. What Kakashi-sensei said that first day was right. I never gave you a chance to prove the rest of the village wrong. I shouldn't have treated you the way that I did. You deserve better than that. At the very least, you deserve it for me to make my own opinion instead of going with what someone else says. Hopefully we can start again." She said hopefully. Naruto's eyes softened a bit and he gave her a small smile.

"I'd like that. Thank you. And... don't worry about it. The entire village hates me, so I can't really fault you for going with everyone else. You never knew any different." Naruto said. At that moment, Kakashi cleared his throat to the right of the group. Sakura jumped slightly, not knowing that he was there, and even Sasuke started a bit. Naruto, who already knew that he was there didn't move a muscle.

"Today, we're going to the Hokage mansion to see if there are any missions. We'll only be doing the D rank missions for now because we are such a new team, but we'll work our way up. Let's go." Kakashi said and the all made their way towards the mansion. Kakashi was secretly pleased to notice that Naruto was walking with the group instead of behind everyone. The good feeling was short lived as he noticed how Naruto didn't seem to have his usual pep.

When they got to the mansion, they saw that Kurenai's team was just leaving the mansion. Kakashi nodded his head at the team and when they passed each other, he noticed something very strange. He watched as Kiba gave Naruto a friendly smile. Naruto gave a pained smile in return after a moment of hesitation, almost like he wished he was anywhere else. Kakashi had thought that the two of them were good friends, so he was left perplexed by the incident. He resolved to talk to Naruto about it later.

When they entered the mansion, they were taken to the Hokage's office.

"Welcome, and congratulations on becoming official ninjas of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You are all valuable assets to this village and are essential for making sure that we run smoothly. I know that you are here for your first mission, and while it may not be glamorous, it still needs to be done. A wealthy woman appears to have lost her cat, and has employed us to track him down and bring him back home. Good luck." The Sandaime said, handing Kakashi a scroll with the mission details.

It didn't take long for the group to complete their mission. Finding the cat was only slightly easier than catching it. Naruto was the one to grab it and he seemed to pay no attention to the fact that it was clawing him up. They took the cat back to the Hokage's mansion, and since it only took them an hour to complete the mission, they all decided to do another.

The squad ended up doing one more mission, almost finding themselves bored by the fact that they were able to complete everything so quickly. Finally, they decided that enough was enough, and Naruto was quick to leave to his apartment. He had seen Kiba from afar four separate times that day, and he just wanted to be left alone. Kakashi was going to follow him to make sure that everything was okay with him, but he didn't get the chance.

"Kakashi, there's something you need to know. I'm sure you've noticed that Naruto has… changed. He used a forbidden jutsu to replace Kiba's memory of him." Hiruzen said and the silver haired ninja furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Why would he do that? He had a remarkable connection with the boy, probably the only one that he has ever had. Why would he give that up?" Kakashi asked, his mind racing through several possibilities, though not many of them seemed even remotely plausible.

"Naruto thought, with help from Tsume, that he wasn't worthy of being Kiba's friend. After what happened to them, Tsume felt that her son's life was in too much danger and she let it cloud her sense of reason. Naruto believed her and replaced Kiba's memories of him so that Kiba could be more protected. Tsume has seen the grave error that she has wrought, but unfortunately for everyone involved, what Naruto did is permanent. No one has ever been able to bring back the original memories." Hiruzen stated, suddenly looking a few years older. Kakashi knew that then that the Hokage was incredibly worried for Naruto and that it was exhausting the old man.

"Well, we won't give him a chance to close himself off completely. Squad 7 will stand behind him, and we will be there for him for when he needs us. I admit that, even though I've only known him a few short days, I've grown attached to him. He has a certain... quality about him that draws you in. It's amazing that he's spent so much of his life alone." Kakashi mused, and Hiruzen nodded wearily.

"Minato wanted the jinchuuriki of the nine tails to be revered as a hero. I can only imagine the shame he would have for the entire village if he could see how they were treating his son. And don't even get me started on how Kushina would take it. That woman scared even me when she was angry." The Sandaime chuckled fondly, dearly missing some of his most beloved friends. He was saddened to see that he had outlived so many.

Hiruzen vowed to make sure that Naruto would outlive and, if he had the ability that Hiruzen thought he might, surpass him. It was the least that he felt he could do to assuage the hurt that was wracking the poor boys' soul.


	10. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Already at chapter 10! Let me know what you think! Also, how do you like the direction that the story is going so far?

The days came by slowly and they were much the same. Naruto would spend a decent part of the day doing missions with his squad, slowly building a relationship with his team. During the middle of the day, he would go to train with Hiruzen, mastering one technique after another. At the evening, he would spend his time training his body and chakra control. He also took to reading so that he could try to keep his mind up to par with the rest. He didn't want to have a flaw like that when it was so easily remedied.

As such, Naruto spent most of his time away from the other inhabitants of the village. The hurt in his heart regarding Kiba never diminished, but he did build up a bit of a tolerance to it. Enough so that when he saw Kiba in the streets, he didn't nearly break down every time. He was still aloof with the Inuzuka though, not really wanting to seem that approachable. It hurt Naruto even more to treat Kiba like that. For all that Kiba knew, the two didn't know each other and Naruto was just being an ass to him. Naruto knew he deserved better than that, but then he reminded himself that that was the reason why they were in that predicament. To keep Kiba happy and safe. Naruto would sacrifice nearly anything to have that happen.

He started to be able to keep his mask up a bit better, even though he was still roiling on the inside. He smiled every now and again, and if he was feeling particularly well, he would laugh. It was worth it to Naruto to see that Kakashi and Hiruzen appeared relieved that he seemed to be getting better. Unfortunately, though, there was nothing Naruto could do to escape his dreams. He usually tried to tire out his body by working out, but it slowly got to the point where he just couldn't work out long enough to be able to sleep peacefully. He would have dreams for a couple of nights that made it hard for him to sleep. He would become exhausted and sleep peacefully for a day or two, and the cycle would repeat. It was slowly driving him mad, not knowing if when he closed his eyes if he would be brought back in to a world that he didn't belong in anymore.

On a particularly bleak day with a mission shortage, Naruto was all set to go train with Hiruzen, but a knock at his door stopped him. He tensed slightly, not knowing what to expect. No one ever really sought him out, and he was used to that. The fact that someone was there meant one of a few things. One: They had the wrong address. That was the best outcome. Two: Someone he knew was checking up on him. While the thought was incredibly sweet, Naruto wasn't naive. He knew that no one would put forth that kind of effort for someone like him. Third: He had unknowingly angered someone enough that they had actively sought him out. That may mean a fight and Naruto wasn't going to hurt anyone in the village regardless if it meant that he would get hurt himself. This was the worst, but the most likely scenario in Naruto's mind.

He went to the door and opened it, fully expecting to be assaulted. What floored him and sent his heart hammering was the fact that it was Tsume Inuzuka at the door, looking distinctly uncomfortable. She looked like she had about as much sleep as Naruto, which is to say not much.

"Inuzuka-Sama. I didn't know that you would be coming." Naruto said, masterfully controlling his voice. Tsume still winced.

"I don't deserve that title, not after what I made happen. I'm not here to ask for forgiveness, because what I've done doesn't deserve forgiveness. I'm here because... Naruto, I had no right to say those cruel things to you. They weren't even remotely true. I said what I did because I knew that it would hurt the most. And it did. And I... I never meant for you to be so miserable. I can't... do anything to fix this, but I can't not let you know how sorry I am. You deserve more than anyone in this village to be happy for what you've gone through." Tsume said, keeping her face down-turned. It wasn't enough to hide the tear tracks going down her cheeks. Naruto was unsure how to respond. He didn't really blame Tsume for saying those things. He had heard them often enough that he had started to believe them himself.

When Tsume started to move away, Naruto stopped her by grabbing her wrist lightly. She froze at the contact, first looking at where they were connected and then towards the blond's face. Naruto studied her for a long moment and then his gaze softened. He released her wrist.

"I appreciate the fact that you came here to apologize. I don't blame you for what you did, and I don't regret what I did. Whether I'm worthy of being a friend to your son or not is a moot point. What is an undeniable fact is that Kiba would be in more danger by being associated with me than he would be elsewise. This was for the best. My feelings matter little to me when compared to him." Naruto said.

"The ninja life is a life of danger. The better you are, the more danger you will be in. I want my child to be the best that he can be. Being associated with you will only be more dangerous if he doesn't get the proper training. Hokage-sama was willing to train him at one point. He would be willing to do it again. I know that you will always have the memories that Kiba won't, but you can try to rekindle the friendship. A bond like that doesn't just go away. I know that you two could be happy again." Tsume said. Naruto was already shaking his head with a small smile.

"I agree that the ninja life is a dangerous one, but the fact of the matter is that I have a demon sealed inside of me. Just by being around me, people are in danger. I can't subject Kiba to that again. I can't be that selfish again." Naruto said, his eyes shimmering slightly. Tsume hesitated before she grabbed the sides of his face and got down on his level.

"That wouldn't be selfish. What would be selfish is to not let Kiba have a say in the matter either way. You can't make him be your friend again, but what you're doing is denying him the chance to even try." Tsume said and stood up, walking away without another word.

Naruto didn't know what to think. He saw truth in what Tsume was saying, but he couldn't let Kiba get hurt just because he happened to know him. Naruto's head started hurting a bit, and he walked in his apartment to lay down for a moment. Before he knew it, he was asleep. What was even more surprising for him was the fact that he didn't dream at all.

When he awoke the following morning, he felt… lighter. Like something had been lifted off of his chest. He was rested and ready to face the day. He noticed that his smiles came more easily and naturally. They were even mostly genuine, which was a vast improvement. He made it to the training grounds where Squad 7 had agreed to meet up the previous day for some light sparring.

Sakura and Sasuke were paired together, a fact that Sakura was obviously excited about, while Kakashi and Naruto squared off against one another.

It became clear that while Sakura had the superior intellect and planning, she couldn't keep up with Sasuke in terms of speed and raw power. With Naruto and Kakashi, it was a bit more evenly matched.

"I don't want you to hold back Naruto. It could be dangerous if people know what you're capable of, but it's time to start trusting your teammates. It'll also be good to keep your skills sharp." Kakashi said loud enough for the other two to hear him. Naruto looked at him skeptically, but trusting his sensei, he made a few short hand signs and something within him shifted.

All of them felt the massive increase in chakra from Naruto. He had been keeping a block on his chakra to make himself less of a target, but he knew that he would need all of it if he even wanted to stand a chance against Kakashi.

The two didn't do anything for a long moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. All of a sudden, Kakashi darted away a bit, and Naruto followed. They both were intentionally slow enough that Sakura and Sasuke could keep up. Naruto inwardly smirked when he noticed that Kakashi was taking them towards a river.

The silver haired jonin stopped in the center of the river while Naruto stopped about twenty feet away. Naruto was so used to manipulating his chakra to stand on water that it was second nature at that point. Again, there was the silent stand-off, but this one lasted for only a moment. Kakashi rapidly started doing hand signs and Naruto knew the jutsu that he was about to unleash, and he started on a flurry of his own hand signs. Kakashi was slightly faster, but Naruto was unconcerned.

"Water Dragon Jutsu." Kakashi said and a giant dragon made of water rose from the river. The water was whirring around at such a velocity that it would be harmful if allowed to connect. Immediately, the dragon started rocketing towards Naruto. The blond finished his signs and placed his hands on the top of the water.

"Water Wall Jutsu." Naruto said and a giant plume of water erupted around him, shielding him from view. Naruto manipulated his chakra and sent the water circling around him ferociously. The dragon made a resounding smack when it hit the wall of water. Thanks to the spinning motion of the wall, the Dragon seemed to glide around it. In the process, it looked as if the wall absorbed most of the dragon, making it ineffectual.

However, Naruto knew that he was far from in the clear. He kept his sense in high alert and as a result, he could tell where the next bout of danger was coming from. He jumped into the air as Kakashi's arms shot from the waters surface, trying to latch onto Naruto's legs and pull him under.

Kakashi had apparently anticipated this because Naruto had to contort his body almost beyond what he was capable of to avoid the shuriken that were speeding towards him. Naruto felt a huge smile split his face, feeling the rush and freedom of the exhilarating battle taking place. He let his chakra fizzle out and the jutsu abated. He touched back down on top of the water and the two ninjas weren't motionless for long.

Kakashi, knowing that nothing was going to get past Naruto's Water Wall while they were on the water decided that it would be a good idea to get on some dry land and the blond followed with a grin on his face.

As soon as Naruto's feet touched the ground, it roiled underneath him. In no time at all, he was surrounded by a dome of solid earth several feet thick. He knew that Kakashi was behind it and took a second to think of the best way out. He knew that this jutsu would slowly drain his chakra, so it was important that he decided on a course of action quickly. He remembered a jutsu that he had just learned the previous day. He was a bit hesitant to use it because he was only successful with it about three quarters of the time, but it was his best shot with so short of time. Before he started, he created three shadow clones and made sure that they were hidden from Chakra detection. He was depleting his chakra reserves even further, but he felt that it was worth it for the information he could potentially gain. He sent them under ground to try to locate Kakashi and try to take him unawares.

Softly, though quickly gaining strength, Naruto started to blow air into his palm, shaping his chakra around the air in a spiral pattern. When he felt that it was large enough, he gave it a violent shove with his chakra and sent it speeding towards the wall. As soon as it left his palm, he got another ready. Even though he may only get the jutsu to work three quarters of the time, he was able to fire them off so rapidly that it made up for the duds.

"Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball." Naruto exclaimed and after a short moment, he carved out a hole in the rock large enough for him to pass through, and he made it back into the light, facing Kakashi once more.

"Nice job Naruto. Remarkable that you could keep a clear head while being trapped like that. It'll serve you well later in life. But you didn't really think that it would be that easy, did you?" Kakashi asked, sharply pulling a cord away from the ground, triggering a trap. Naruto tensed, not knowing what was going to happen, looking around furtively to see where the next bout of danger was going to come from.

Suddenly, everting started getting fuzzy and blurry around the edges. The green in the trees bled down to the ground and took over the grey of the rocks while the grass died in front of his eyes and grew back, repeating the cycle in ever faster loops. The sky turned an interesting shade of dark purple and the clouds took the shapes of animals which started to fight each other. Naruto knew then what had happened, and he panicked a bit. He knew that there was only one course of action.

"I submit." The blond said, and he felt a sense of vertigo, making him close his eyes. When he opened them again, he was looking up at the sky and he could see the faces of Sakura and Sasuke above him looking at him with concern.

"That was something else. Remind me not to get on your bad side. I can't hold a candle to what you can do. It was scary when suddenly you collapsed. Where did you learn all of that?" Sakura asked and Naruto was about to answer, but Kakashi beat him to the punch.

"Naruto's mentor isn't of concern. What is important is the fact that you didn't even struggle when you were in the genjutsu Naruto." Kakashi said, and Naruto flushed with slight shame.

"Yeah, I've been trying to get genjutsu, but I can't seem to get a knack for it. I'm not even able to dispel the genjutsu, so I knew that I had to submit. There was nothing that I could do." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Well, it's a good thing that you have a team with you then. You can't be good at everything. That's why you get people together to fill the gaps." Sakura said, and Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Well, I'll see what we can do to try to get you to at least dispel them. It would be bad if you were caught in one with no way out. As for sparring, I think that was great. Let's go see if Hokage-Sama has any missions for us." Kakashi said. The group quickly made their way to the Hokage mansion and were seen in.

"You have all been doing well with your missions. I know that no one likes to do the grunt work, but it still needs to be done. However, I know that you will get burnt out if all I keep giving you is jobs to fetch cats for rich old women." Hiruzen said with a light chuckle.

"Did that damn cat get out again?! I swear, with how often he gets out, the owner might have picked up on the fact that they didn't want to be there. Not that I can blame the poor guy. I wouldn't want to get smothered like that either." Naruto said with a grimace.

"Yes, the cat got out again, but we will leave that for now. I have been speaking with Kakashi and we agree that it's time for you two to get going on a C rank mission. There might be a bit of fighting involved, but it should still be easy. You will be escorting a master builder to a bridge that is under construction in the Land of Waves. When completed, this bridge will connect the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves, making trade much easier and more reliable. It will mean a completely new way of life for these people, who have always had life a bit hard." Hiruzen said and motioned for someone to enter the room.

An older man with a wide brimmed hat entered the room with a bottle in his hand. He seems to have a permanent scowl etched onto his face. He looked at Squad 7 and harrumphed.

"You're sending me three brats to be my body guards?" He asked haughtily. Naruto watched as Sasuke tensed in what he knew was anger, and Sakura drooped a bit. Naruto, used to that kind of treatment, wasn't fazed.

"These three 'brats', as you so kindly put it, are full-fledged ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and they deserve respect. I am a jonin and, even if we run into any trouble along the way, I will be there to handle it." Kakashi said in an icily even tone. The older man blanched a bit and had the decency to look a bit shamed.

"Yeah, well, this is important for my town, so I'm sorry for being concerned. The name's Tazuna." He said.

"I am Kakashi, this is Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. When would you like to leave?"

"As soon as possible. I've been away from home for too long already, and I miss my family." Tazuna said wistfully.

"All right. Meet up at the main gate in an hour. Be prepared for an extended outing. This could easily take a month or more." Kakashi said and the group separated.

Naruto was ready in half an hour and he was making his way down towards the main gate when he was stopped by a voice calling his name.

"Hey Naruto, wasn't it?" Kiba asked. Naruto would know his voice anywhere.

"Umm… yeah. It was Kiba, right?" Naruto asked, trying his damndest to seem natural, but he had a feeling that he wasn't doing the great of a job.

"Yeah, that's me! Hey, I was just wondering if you might want to hang out some time? I've noticed that you don't really get out much." Kiba replied, not really thinking through his response.

 _'Has he… been watching me? Why?! He can't remember me, so why would he try to watch me?'_ Naruto thought in his head, but kept his face neutral.

He was warring an internal battle. He wanted Kiba to be as safe as possible, which meant that he wouldn't be able to be around Naruto, but the blond so desperately wanted his friend back. His mind flashed back to the conversation he had with Tsume the previous day, and it created a tipping point.

"… That would be nice, I would think. But I'm warning you now. If you are seen with me, people might start to dislike you. They hate me… for things that I don't have control over." Naruto said bleakly.

"Well, why should I care what anyone else other than myself thinks? You seem like a nice guy, and I'm willing to give you a chance, so that's that." Kiba said, and Naruto was conscious of the fact that Kiba didn't try to pry into what it was that Naruto was hated for.

"Well, then I guess I'll see you around Kiba. I have a mission that I have to go do, and I'll probably be gone for a while, but we should do something when I get back." Naruto said cautiously. He was now even more afraid than he had been before to spend time with Kiba.

He knew that he was giving Kiba a second chance to break his heart. He was afraid that when he revealed that he was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, regardless of how Kiba had taken it the first time, he would do the complete opposite.

 _'But… if it turns out well, then it's worth the risk, right? And even if he won't, I'll always have the memories from before.'_ Naruto thought. He was surprised when Kiba extended a hand towards him. Naruto gripped it hesitantly, relishing in the warmth that emanated from Kiba's palm.

"Right, well I'll see you around Naruto." Kiba said, walking the opposite way of where Naruto was going. The blond stayed in place for a second, trying to calm himself down. Just that simple touch had sent a flurry of butterflies going through his tummy and his heart was beating faster. He could feel that his face was warm with a slight flush.

Maybe… things could get better for him after all.


	11. A Reason To Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, but it sets up the next chapter or two, so it's important. Let me know what you think, and I do apologize for the long wait.

Naruto met with the rest of his squad at the main gate. Tazuna hadn't arrived yet, but the group didn't have to wait very long for him. He had affirmed himself with a simple traveling pack and he had ditched the bottle for the time being. He took a deep breath and purposely strode out of the village without a backwards glance, squad 7 closely in tow.

It didn't take long for the group to enter the forest that surrounded the village and they made good time through the green canopy. It was a hot and dry day, and Naruto wasn't the only one wishing for a little bit of rain to bring some much needed moisture to the land.

As they were walking, Naruto noticed something odd. He knew that it hadn't rained in many days, but right off to the side of the road, before the tree line, there was a rather large puddle. Naruto looked at Kakashi, intending to say something, but the silver haired jonin almost imperceptibly shook his head, and Naruto kept his mouth shut.

All of a sudden, there was a loud rustling in the forest off to their right. Naruto's senses went on high alert, and he pinned where the sound was coming from and sent some shuriken into the brush. Immediately, the rustling stopped and Naruto wasted no time in investigating.

When Naruto reached the area, he found a white bunny there and shook his head. As he turned towards Kakashi to let him know that it was a false alarm, he saw that there were two ninja standing behind Kakashi. Before Naruto could say anything the two ninja struck, catching Kakashi unaware. The chain between the two ninja sliced right through Kakashi, leaving a gorey mess.

"We're here for the bridge builder. Stand aside and you can go on your way." One of the two spoke. Without needing to say anything, the three genin surrounded Tazuna, who was as pale as a sheet. Naruto found himself directly facing the two ninja. They were robed with dark colors and a metal mask over their mouths. Their headbands showed the sigil of the Village Hidden in the Mist, but there was a deep gouge going through the center of the metal headband, marking them as rogue ninja. That meant that they were even more dangerous because they wouldn't care who they killed that got in their way.

"So be it. You've chosen death." They said and blurred towards the three. Before the pair had gone more than five feet, they were stopped by none other than Kakashi, who used their surprise to mangle the chain connecting the two.

"You've picked the wrong squad to mess with. Go back to wherever it is you came from, and we can forget this happened." Kakashi said calmly. Instead of answering the two simultaneously pressed a button on the metal gauntlets that held the chain between them and the chain fell to the ground, useless. In the chains place were wicked looking metal claws. One of the two faced off against Kakashi and the other sped towards Naruto and the others.

Naruto rushed to face the man. The two met, one with sharp metal claws and the other with a sharp kunai in hand. The broke apart and Naruto created some Shadow Clones to circle the ninja. They all attached simultaneously and the man crouched and started spinning viciously, quickly dispersing the ring of clones.

Naruto used that moment to attack himself and he managed to jab his kunai into the gut of the assailant who dropped to the gound, but in the process, he felt a tiny nick on the back of his hand. After a second, it started to burn as if a thousand fire ants were biting him simultaneously.

"Naruto, you need to open the wound. There was poison on the claws of their gauntlets, and if you don't let it drain out of your system, you will die." Kakashi said, also having finished incapacitating his opponent.

Naruto stayed still for a moment. His limbs felt frozen and he was left with one burning thought.

 _'Why? Why should it matter if I'm dead? People would probably be happy, so what's the point?'_ He thought to himself. Then, all of a sudden, a bright image burst through the dark thoughts that had gathered, whisking them away with barely a glance. It was Kiba. An image of Kiba smiling in joy, another with his face set in concentration, the triumphant look he got when he accomplished something difficult. Kiba, looking at Naruto with such adoration that it left the whiskered youth breathless. He knew then that he had something left to fight for. He wanted to keep Kiba safe and happy for as long as he possibly could. And he knew that he couldn't do that if he was six feet under.

With a determined cast to his visage, Naruto brandished a kunai and dug the point of it into the back of his hand, squeezing the skin enough to allow the blood to drop off of his hand. He let it continue until he started feeling light headed and then quickly and efficiently cut a strip of cloth and bandaged his hand. When he registered the people around him, he found that they were all starting at him.

"Well, let's get moving." Naruto said and was about to take the lead but was stopped by Kakashi.

"First things first. Tazuna, you have some explaining to do. These two ninja are well known. They are in the bingo book and go by the name of the Demon Brothers of the Mist. They are high level chunin ninja and much more advanced than what my team should be handling on a C level mission." Kakashi said while methodically tying the brothers up against a tree so that they couldn't cause any more harm.

"You and your villages... You rob people of every penny! My town couldn't even come close to affording a B rank mission. We could barely afford a C rank. I'm doing what I have to do for my family and my friends and their families. I won't apologize for that." He said with a stubborn set to his jaw.

"Regardless, you shouldn't have gone for a rank lower than the one you need. These are the types of things that can lead to people being killed senselessly." Kakashi said and Tazuna broke eye contact.

"So, what now? Are you going to abandon the mission and leave my town to rot?" Tazuna asked bitterly.

"I'll leave that up to my squad. After all, it's their lives that will be in danger as well." Kakashi said and looked at the three members of squad 7 in turn, finally resting his eye on Naruto.

"I can't speak for my teammates, but I for one think that we should finish this mission. We took it on, and it would be dishonorable if we were to abandon someone when they need us." Naruto said, surprising himself by speaking first, and both Sakura and Sasuke nodded their heads.

"I agree. A ninjas life is full of danger, and it does no good to try to run from it. We've been hired to do a job and, no matter how hard it gets, it would be a disgrace to the title of ninja to just quit." Sakura said.

"Agreed. So we continue, master bridge builder." Sasuke said. Tazuna bowed his head but he wasn't quick enough for the group to see the great emotion on his face.

"Thank you. You are the only hope we have of being happy." He said softly.

"Let me send a message to the village to let them know to collect these two. There is a bounty on them, and I think it only fair that you guys should split the reward." Kakashi said, but Sakura was shaking her head.

"I for one didn't do much. It was you and Naruto who took out those two. You should keep the money." Sakura said. Sasuke looked a bit disgruntled at that, but he didn't say anything against it. The interaction caused Naruto to shift uncomfortably. The last thing that he wanted was to become the cause of dissension within the squad for something as trivial as money.

"Well, we'll have plenty of time to discuss it. We still have a ways to go before we hit the Land of Waves. Lead on Master Tazuna." Kakashi said and the group was once more on their way.

They had no more encounters throughout the day, though that did little to settle their nerves or drop their guards. They decided to stop off at an inn alongside the road to bed down for the night around dinner time. After the group had eaten, Kakashi took all of the squad out to the back of the inn.

"As we know now, this isn't going to be a walk in the park. I don't want any unnecessary actions from any of you that would result in someone being hurt. That being said, inaction can cause just as bad, if not worse, outcomes in the end. I think it's time to show all of you a bit of chakra control. You can use chakra on the bottoms of your feet to pretty much get anywhere that you want to if you know how much to use. Too little chakra, and you simply won't 'stick' to the surface. Too much will cause you to damage the surface. I'll demonstrate walking up the side of this tree, and then I want you to use kunai to mark the highest point that you get. I don't want you to get discouraged though. It's a difficult technique to master, but one that is invaluable in terms of chakra control." Kakashi lectured and then walked to the base of a large tree. He gathered chakra to the bottoms of his feet and walked at a leisurely pace up the side of the tree.

Naruto followed, already having mastered that technique long ago with Hiruzen. Kakashi nodded his head in approval. Sakura went next and, apart from a minor scare where she started slipping from too little chakra, she made it to one of the top branches with no problem. Sasuke however took one step on the tree and as he was shifting to go to the next step, he applied too much chakra and a perfect indentation of his shoe print was permanently etched into the wood, which caused him to fall back to the ground, but not before he managed to reach up as far as he could with his kunai to mark his spot. He did a poor job of hiding his anger at being the only one who wasn't able to get it on the first try.

"It's a good start. Sakura seems to have an innate ability to control her chakra well, and Naruto has recieved special training. The fact that you were able to start getting up the tree is a good sign. Keep working at it and you will get it down in no time. Now Naruto, a word if you please." Kakashi said. Naruto was confused, but he followed his sensei regardless.

"What's up?" The blond asked. Kakashi threw a critical glance at him before focusing on the horizon, seeming to watch the sun set. He was silent for a handful of heartbeats before he seemed to gather his thoughts.

"Back there, I wasn't sure if you were going to even try to get the poison out of your system. I was worried about you. What happened?" Kakashi asked kindly. Naruto's initial reaction was to disbelieve the fact that Kakashi might have worried about him, but he instinctively knew better than that. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.

"In all honestly, I almost let the poison take its course. I got to thinking about why I should save myself. Most people would be happy that I was gone, I've been a nuisance to them since day one. I don't contribute to the continued well-being of the village. But... one thing saved me. I thought about Kiba. I want to be able to protect him from as much as possible. I want to be there to see him smile again. I may be selfish for wanting something like that, but it kept me going. It gave me a purpose." Naruto said with a carefully neutral voice.

"I'm glad that you found a reason for fighting. Maybe, one day, this team can be a reason too. I may not have known you for very long, but you are an important person to me. You are my friend. You are a part of my family now." Kakashi said sincerely, clasping a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He let it linger there for a moment and then he walked off, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

* * *

The Hokage Mansion

* * *

"I have an important mission for you. It seems that Squad 7 has run in to some trouble. They are out on a C rank mission, but they encountered the Demon Brothers of the Mist. I'm worried that there may be others who are even more dangerous than those two coming. I need you guys to get to the Land of Waves as soon as possible and give Squad 7 some reinforcements. Maybe it's just an old man being paranoid, but you don't live as long as I have as a ninja without trusting your gut." Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"You can count on us, sir." Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Kurenai all said in tandem.


	12. The Land of Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it took awhile to update, but I hope that you can forgive me. Enjoy this latest installment, yeah?

The fog descended suddenly, obscuring their vision. It was around that time that the guy who was maneuvering them across the body of water to the island nation cut the motor and brought out a single paddle that he used to steer and row the boat. It was infinitely more silent and it only took a look from the squad for him to explain the sudden change.

"From here we need to be silent. They could be watching and the last thing that we would want is to be caught." He said, which didn't really inspire confidence, nor did it tell the group what they wanted to know. Who was potentially watching? For the answer, Kakashi looked to Tazuna.

"So, Master Bridge Builder. I think it's high time that you told us exactly why people are after you and why my team is putting their life on the line for you." He said, though not unkindly.

"I guess there's no point in keeping it secret any longer. In fact, I want to tell you. My nation used to be prosperous, until we caught the eye of a small man that has cast a very large shadow. You'd know him by name, if nothing else." Tazuna said.

"Who?" Kakashi asked, and he noticed that the other three members of the squad had leaned forward in interest to hear.

"His name is Gato." Tazuna said. The name didn't ring any bells for Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura, but Kakashi's visible eye widened.

"Gato? Of Gato Company? He's one of the most wealthy people in the world. What does he want with your nation?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, everyone in the trading business knows who he is, On the surface, he is a trading magnate, especially when it comes to the seas. Underneath that, though, he is as corrupt as they get. He deals in drugs, smuggling them. He uses ninja and mercenaries to do his dirty work. He set his sights on our nation a long time ago, and with his wealth and influence, he took control of the ships and ports. On an island nation, ships and ports are the lifeblood of the community. When he took control, he crippled the nation. With the land bridge, it threatens his control. If we had access to the mainland by something other than the water, he would lose his complete control over us. He will stop at nothing to prevent that from happening. I'm the bridge builder." Tazuna said.

"I get it then. You're the one who is spearheading this bridge build, so if they take you out, then there won't be a bridge." Sakura said.

"If you knew from the get-go that Gato was going to be after you, then why wouldn't you say something in the first place?" Kakashi asked.

"The Land of Waves is a small and impoverished nation, even moreso because of Gato's hold on us. Even our nobles have very little money. The common people that are working on the bridge couldn't afford an A or even a B rank mission. That's the sad truth. You can abandon me when we reach the island, but if you do so you will be condemning me to death. I will be assassinated before I even make it to my home." Tazuna said gravely.

"We already told you that we won't abandon you. If anyone wants to get through you, they'll have to go through us." Sasuke said, and the others nodded their heads. The show of companionship had Kakashi an inch away from beaming in pride.

They made it to land before any more words were had and then made their way on foot. They started leading Tazuna to his home when a sound that was unlike anything that nature could make put Naruto and Kakashi on high alert. Without thinking, Naruto sent some shuriken towards the noise, startling everyone except for Kakashi once again.

"If you're going to mess around, then I don't think I want your so called 'protection'." Tazuna said derisively. While he was talking, the team made their way to where Naruto had thrown his kunai. What met them wasn't an assailant, but a terrified snowy white rabbit.

"Way to go knucklehead, you nearly killed the poor defenceless bunny." Sakura said, though her tone lacked any real malice. Naruto, for his part, look chagrined and Sasuke just looked amused. Kakashi, however, was on an even higher alert than before.

 _'This is a snow rabbit, but they only get white coats like this when there is no sunlight. This animal has been kept in doors. It's too much of a coincidence for it to be a runaway pet. That means that it must have been bred and raised to be a substitution for someone. This is bad.'_ Kakashi thought. He heard the faint whistling sound of something slicing through the air and instinct took over.

"Everyone, get down." Kakashi said. Trusting that his team would heed his words quick enough, Kakashi tackled Tazuna to the ground an instant before a massive two handed sword cleaved through the space they had just stood in. Naruto, having also heard the sword coming, knocked both Sasuke and Sakura to the ground in time as well. The sword lodged itself into a tree about 20 feet from where the group stood. Not even a second later, a ninja stood atop the lodged sword and contemplated the group of children before him before his gaze settled on Kakashi.

"Well well, if it isn't Kakashi of the Sharingan, the Copy Ninja." The ninja said. His mouth was covered with a swath of bandages and he was shirtless, though the cool air seemed not to bother him.

Naruto was a bit shocked at Kakashi's titles, though he didn't understand the Sharingan part. He didn't miss the flinch that came from Sasuke and briefly wondered what it was about before he turned his full attention back to the ninja in front of them.

"And if I'm not mistaken, you're Momochi Zabuza, the silent killer from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi said, his mind racing.

 _'This guy is a jonin, on a completely different level than those other two ninja. I have no choice. I have to go all out if I want to keep my friends safe.'_ With those thoughts in mind, Kakashi grabbed the edge of the headband that was covering his left eye and slowly lifted it. Naruto noticed a deep scar going right through the center of Kakashi's eyelid and extending down his cheek a bit.

When Kakashi opened his eye, Naruto let out an involuntary gasp. His left eye was blood red and Naruto immediately was brought back in time to the night where he had met Itachi. The night that had started the chain of events to Naruto losing the only friend he had. He shivered and, unbeknownst to him, he had turned rather pale, scaring Sakura. Sasuke wasn't paying attention to Naruto. He was focused solely on Kakashi.

"What is that Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. It was Sasuke who answered.

"The Sharingan is a visual power that is a bloodline trait of powerful Uchiha. It is said to be able to see through ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. But it does even more than that. It can observe and replicate a ninjas' techniques perfectly. But how..." Sasuke said, looking accusingly at Kakashi, who didn't spare him a glance, keeping his attention focused solely on the bloodthirsty killer in front of him.

"I'm flattered that you know me. However, I'm not here to fight you unless you get in my way. I'm here to kill him." Zabuza said, pointing to Tazuna. Instantly, Naruto was in-between Zabuza and Tazuna.

"You see, we can't let you do that. It's our mission to protect him while he works on the bridge." Naruto said.

"What's this? A little child telling me off? My quarrel isn't with you punk, so step aside." Zabuza said, to which it was Kakashi that responded.

"Naruto is right. Tazuna is our responsibility and we won't back down from a fight with you. If you think that you can beat us, then by all means. Try it." He said. Zabuza raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Very well then. Your lives are now forfeit." Zabuza said and raised his arm above his head. They could all feel the massive amounts of chakra that he was building. It happened gradually, but they eventually found that they could no longer see him through the mist that had suddenly descended. Suddenly his voice sounded from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now, which will be my killpoint?" He said. Sakura shuddered in full-blown terror, but she stayed her ground protecting Tazuna.

Kakashi looked around for a moment, trying to see the slightest motion that might give Zabuza's position away. However, when he realized that he couldn't rely on his eyes with the mist as thick as it was, he sent out a huge wave of his chakra, which dispelled some of the mist around the group.

"It's over." Zabuza said triumphantly.

When the mist cleared, the group was horrified to find that Zabuza was among them, in-between them and Tazuna. Kakashi saw this, and saw Zabuza start to bring his arm around for a great swing of his blade that would take out everyone at once, and used his chakra to dash forward before he could get his arm around, thrusting a kunai into Zabuza's gut. Instead of blood seeping from the wound, it was water. In an instant, the body dissolved into a puddle of water. The true form of Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and sent his sword throgh his body. To Zabuza's surprise, it too dissolved into water.

"The Water Clone jutsu. It can't be!" Zabuza said incredulously. The blade of a knife reached around Zabuza's throat and Kakashi was suddenly behind him.

"Don't move. Now it's over. You're finished." The silver-haired man said. To Kakashi's unease, Zabuza started chuckling.

"Finished? You're techinique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copy ninja like you. You are full of surprises though. Nice try, but I'm not that easy to fool." Zabuza said from behind Kakashi once again. The body in front of Kakashi proved to be a clone as well. Kakashi ducked through the coming sword slice and Zabuza adjusted his grip on the sword, bring his body around to aim a kick at Kakashi which sent him flying into the water. The rogue ninja quickly gave chase and dove into the water.

When Kakshi surfaced, Zabuza was already completing a series of hand signs.

"Water Prison Jutsu!" He exclaimed, bringing Kakashi's body into a sphere of dense water which he kept together by his hand partially inside of the sphere.

"This prison may be made of water, but it's stronger than steel. It's hard to fight when you can't move. I'll finish you later, but first, your squad needs to be eliminated. Water Clone Jutsu." Zabuza said and a replica of his body rose from the water and started heading towards the terrified genin and the master bridge builder. The form of Zabuza melted into the mist again and all of a sudden, Naruto's body went flying backwards. With the force of the blow, Naruto's headband was knocked off and Zabuza derisively stepped on it.

"Listen, this isn't a fight that you can win. Take the bridge builder and go! He's using his real body to keep me in this prison, so he can only attack you with the clone. If you get far enough away, he won't be able to follow you. Now run!" Kakashi exclaimed.

' _Run away? That's not an option. That became unthinkable the moment that you got caught. No matter how fast we run or how far we go, he'll track us down and eliminate us. If we try the usual method of defense, he can get around it in an instant. In the end, if we're on our own, we're finished. Our only chance of survival is to rescue you!'_ Sasuke said while looking at Kakashi in the prison. With that in mind, he rushed the clone, jumping up in the air faster than the eye could follow. however, it wasn't fast enough. When he was within reach, Zabuza's hand wrapped around his throat and threw him to the side without a second thought. The clone then turned his attention to Naruto again.

Naruto looked at Zabuza and thought about how much he wanted to be someone that people could rely on. He wanted to protect those that he cared about. He wanted to make the title of Ninja something that others can look upon with a smile on their faces. But he knew that he needed one thing in order to make that happen. With that thought in mind, Naruto rushed headlong at Zabuza to the growing horror of everyone. Just as Naruto was about to land a blow, he was punched hard in the face, sending him reeling backwards towards Sakura and Tazuna.

"Why would you rush him like that? We're so far out of his league! You're gonna get yourself killed! What kind of idi-" Sakura exclaimed and fell silent, finally noticing what it was that Naruto had in his hand. Naruto knew that he wasn't going to be able to land a hit on Zabuza by rushing in like he did, but his goal was to get his headband anyway, the symbloc proof of him being a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Naruto got to his feet shakily with blood running down the corner of his mouth.

"Hey you. The freak with no eyebrows. Put this down in your bingo book. The ninja that is going to become the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves? He never backs down. His name's Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said while putting his headband back on and fixing Zabuza with a glare.

"Alright Sasuke, listen up. I've got a plan." Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded his head to show he understood.

"Alright guys, let's go wild!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

"Big words for such a little man. You think your plan is going to keep you in the game?" Zabuza asked haughtily.

"What are you guys doing? The mission isn't to prove how brave you are! Nothing is going to matter if you all die here! Run! Don't you understand? This man kills for fun. He slaughtered his entire academy class just because he could! Don't throw your lives away for this!" Kakashi exclaimed, once more trying to get them to safety.

"Huh, bridge builder?" Naruto asked.

"Well... I guess this all happened because of me, because of my desire to live. But I won't let that stand in your way now. Forget about me and do what you have to do! Fight and save your sensei!" Tazuna said.

In the time it took to blink, Zabuza punched Sasuke in the gut, sending him backwards. As soon as he hit the gound, Zabuza was there and sent a punishing blow into Sasuke's stomach. He then placed his boot on Sasuke's chest and held him there, laughing to himself.

Naruto created a battalion of shadow clones and sent them all in the air to attack at once, hoping that one of them would be able to land a hit. That hope however, was dashed to shreds when there was a great poof of smoke signaling the dispersal of his shadow clones and Zabuza's clone appeared unharmed. Naruto didn't let that phase him and started sending a barrage of spiraling wind spheres at the clone.

"Interesting! You might actually be able to get me moving, if even just a little bit!" The clone said, dodging the projectiles with ease, which caused Naruto to smirk. The projectiles hadn't originally been intended for the clone. They sped towards the original who was maintaining the prison.

"Water Wall jutsu!" Zabuza exclaimed and a wall of thick water appeared, which nullified the attacks Naruto had sent his way. Unbeknownst to either the clone or the original, Sasuke used the chaos of the battle to slip around to be able to get closer to the original. However, you don't attain the rank of jonin for nothing. When Sasuke made his move, Zabuza created another Water clone to handle him. Naruto, in response, created a bunch of Shadow clones once more, sending them in a wide circle around the battlefield on the water. All of the shadow clones started belting out massive amounts of wind spheres. When they sent out the last of them, they all placed their hands on top of the water.

"Water Wall jutsu!" They all exclaimed, sending up massive jets of water from every direction at once. In the confusion, the original Naruto made his way underwater and sped towards the original Zabuza, managing to wrap his hand around Zabuza's ankle. Zabuza looked down in alarm but he wasn't fast enough to get off any more jutsu. Naruto dragged him down into the water, breaking his contact with the water prison and causing his clones to lose cohesion. Naruto attempted to get away before he was caught, but he was unsuccessful. Zabuza wrapped his hand around Naruto's arm and _wrenched_ it hard, sending massive amounts of pain coursing through Narutp's system and also shooting him out of the water. He landed on his arm and a sickening crack could be heard. Naruto refused to give voice to his pain, but he was very pale and was sweating heavily. He got up and his right arm hang limply by his side, but he still looked determined to fight. Zabuza was about to throw his sword at the prone figure, but at the last minute, a hand blocked the blade. Kakshi looked at Zabuza with a chilling glare that even made the Demon of the Mist shudder.

"Your technique worked on me once. It won't work again. So. What's it going to be?" Kakashi asked, and Zabuza grinned. He increased the pressure on the sword, making it dig into Kakashi's hand just a bit more, before Kakashi was able to shrug it off. The broke apart and jumped about twenty feet apart. As soon as they touched back down on the water, Zabuza started to make hand signs. Kakashi was able to mirror them perfectly thanks to the Sharingan and they both finished the jutsu at the same time.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" They both exclaimed and two dragons rose from the water and started attacking each other. While they fought, Zabuza and Kakashi were also fighting. Zabuza was bearing down on Kakashi with his sword, but Kakashi was able to hold him off with a kunai knife. It got to the point where they were in a contest of strength with neither of them having the upper hand. After a moment, they broke apart again. Zabuza started moving, and to his mounting unease, Kakashi copied every move that he made as he was making them. Every step was mirrored, every gesture was replicated precisely. It unnerved the rogue ninja beyond belief.

"You're just a copier! There's no way that you can beat me!" Zabuza said with a hint of panic in his voice. He started making hand signs even faster than before and Kakashi kept pace with him. Near the end of the hand signs, Zabuza paused. He started to see a wavering image appearing behind Kakashi. When it coalesced, it turned out to be a copy of himself. While the real Zabuza was distracted by the illusion, Kakashi finished the jutsu before Zabuza could.

"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" Kakashi said and a massive torrent of water appeared in front of Kakashi and raced towards Zabuza, throwing him backwards with the force and trapping him in the spiral of water. It carried him to a tree and smashed him into the front of it with immense pressure. A flurry of kunai rushed towards the bewildered ninja and immobilized him by hitting several of his key pressure points.

"You're finished." Kakashi told Zabuza from a branch in the tree.

"Impossible. You copied my jutsu before I could even make it! Can you-" Zabuza started before Kakashi finished his sentence.

"Read the future? Yes. And do you want to know what I see when I look into your future? I see you lying at my feet in a puddle of your own blood, dead." Kakashi said and Zabuza shuddered in fright, unable to say anything past the lump in his throat. Kakashi landed nimbly beside Zabuza and brandished his kunai knife, about to go in for the kill, when a cluster of needles suddenly struck several key points on Zabuza's neck. All of a sudden, the rogue ninja's body collapsed to the ground and Kakashi could tell that he wasn't breathing. It was at that time that the rest of the squad arrived, even Naruto who was cradling what was clearly a broken arm.

When Kakashi looked towards the source of the needles, he saw a ninja that was dressed in flowing robes and wearing an mask from the Village Hidden in the Mist. The figure laughed slightly. By the tone of the voice and the size of the body, Kakashi determined that the figure was a male who was around Naruto's age.

"Well, you were partially right. He's definitely dead, but the pool of blood thing might take a bit." The figure jumped down and landed beside the body. Just to be on the safe side, Kakashi knelt down and checked for a pulse, though he found none.

"Thank you. I've been hunting Zabuza for a long time and I was looking for an opportunity to take him down." The masked man said.

"By your mask, I see that you're a Tracker ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi remarked and the figure inclined his head.

"Impressive. You're well informed." He said.

"What's a Tracker ninja?" Tazuna asked. It was Sakura that answered.

"When a rogue ninja breaks away from his village, he carries all kinds of secrets with him, the secrets of his people. Trackers are specially trained to hunt down these ninja and eliminate them. That way, the secrets of their people remain secrets." She said.

"That's correct. I'm a member of the elite Tracking unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist. It was my dutry to stop Zabuza. Your struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body. They must not be allowed to get into the wrong hands. Thank you and farewell." He said while hoisting the body of Zabuza onto his back. Without another word, the figure disappeared in a gust of wind. Kakashi sighed and replaced the headband over his Sharingan.

"This mission isn't over yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi said, glancing at Tazuna coolly.

"Hehe, sorry for causing all of this trouble. You can rest at my place when we get to the village." Tazuna offered with a sheepish grin.

"All right guys, let's get a move on." Kakashi said. He didn't make it two steps before his body seized up and he collapsed. The group rushed to his side in alarm. Upon noticing that he had gone unconscious, the group looked around warily, knowing that they were horribly exposed at that moment. They quickly gathered Kakashi and hastily made it to the village.

Kakashi didn't come to until later on that evcening. He opened his eye and found himself in a modest home.

 _'Guess I overdid it with the Sharingan.'_ He thought to himself. He looked around and saw an attractive young woman coming towards him.

"Finally waking up, I see. How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I've been better. It'll be a week at least before I'm able to move normally." Kakashi said, while trying to get up. He wanted to see how everyone was doing.

"Well, moving around right now isn't going to help anything. Lie back and get some rest." The kind woman said and, after a moments' hesitation, he decided it was probably in his best interest to listen to her.

Not a moment later and the rest of his squad came in. They all looked fine except for Naruto, who's right arm was in a splint. They all looked relieved to see that he was unharmed.

"Kakashi-sensei, while your Sharingan is great and all, if it puts that much strain on you, maybe you shouldn't use it." Sakura said. Kakashi mumbled a quick apology.

"Well either way, you took down one of the most powerful ninja they could have sent on my trail. We should be safe for awhile." Tazuna said.

"About that... We most likely haven't seen the last of Zabuza." Kakashi said whcih was met with loud exclamations from the rest of the group.

"What do you mean we haven't seen the last of him? You said it yourself! He had no vital signs." Sakura questioned.

"That boy with the mask... He didn't follow protocol when taking care of the body. In that line of work, you dispose of the body at the site, but this ninja gathered the body and moved it somewhere else. That leads me to believe that Zabuza and the masked kid are working together. And even if I'm wrong, we should still be ready for some other threat, which means more training. I might not be able to do much in my current state, but I can oversee some training sessions." Kakashi said.

"Of course sensei. We're ready for whatever you can throw our way." Sasuke said.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! NEXT CHAPTER! It's quite a bit quicker than usual too, so I'm happy for that. I hope that you guys have been enjoying the ride so far. It's been nice to stretch my fingers and write again. I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

Squad 7 quickly built up a routine. During the day, they would use their skills to aid in the construction of the bridge. During the evenings, after they had all eaten dinner, they would go to the forest near the village and train. Kakashi spent the first couple of days teaching them more about chakra control with the help of Naruto. Naruto, for his part, surprised everyone when his broken arm healed after a day and a half. When asked about it, he merely said that he had always healed quickly.

The third day of their stay in the village went as usual. They woke up, ate a modest breakfast, made their way to the bridge and helped out in any way that they could, then they went back to the house to eat dinner before going to the forest to train. However, instead of going to try to climb trees or walk on water again, Kakashi had them work on something a bit different.

"All right guys, you seem to have mastered the basics on chakra control. Now, we can apply that to other aspects of fighting. Did you know that you can concentrate chakra to certain parts of your body to make an attack more powerful or to dampen a blow? You need to have perfect control of your chakra in order to do this though. Naruto, would you mind helping me demonstrate this?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course sensei." The blond replied, standing directly across from Kakashi.

"Now, what you need to do is gather your chakra to one place of your body. In the beginning, you are going to need a moment before you can gather enough chakra at any one locatioin in order for it to dampen a blow. With practice, you can do it in a milisecond. This proves useful in combat, where things can happen very rapidly. Naruto, I want you to punch me as hard as you can in the gut. I mean it. Don't hold back." Kakashi said. Naruto had a brief moment of doubt cloud his mind, but he figured that Kakashi knew what he was doing.

Beofre Naruto punched the silver haired ninja though, he had a moment of revelation. He gathered his chakra into his hand and coated it in it. He imagined it forming a glove that was as supple as leather but as hard as steel. It took a moment before he was satisfied, but not as long as he had feared. Naruto grinned at Kakashi and, without warning or preamble, sent a massive punch riht into Kakashi's stomach. The impact created a mini soundwave and sent Kakashi flying backwards into the trees. The jounin went through a few of the smaller trees in a shower of splintered wood before he hit a large enough tree to stop him dead in his tracks. The force was nough to leave a large imprint in the trunk of the tree. The other members of the group gasped in surprise and Naruto was feeling immensely guilty thinking that he had seriously hurt his sensei.

When the three arrived at the site of the devastation however, they found Kakshi calmly brushing off his uniform and looking none the worse for wear. He raised a hand in greeting when he saw them.

"Yo. As you can see, I'm unharmed, though that was a bit more intense than I had originally anticipated. I had intended to only need to use my chakra to cushion the blow from my stomach, but I ended up having to wrap it around my body when I went flying to protect myself from damage. I felt that you applied what I said though Naruto. You used your chakra on your fist before it connected. That's a good thing too, because you hit me hard enough that you would have hurt yourself in the process as well. Now, I don't want you guys to go full force, but I do want you to try htting each other a few times and try to dampen the blows. I'll monitor and intervene if necessary." Kakashi said, and the three genin squared off.

"If you can wrap it around your body completely, then why wouldn't you leave it wrapped around yourself the entire time that you were in a fight?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm glad you asked. There's a couple of reasons. First off is the fact that doing so actually uses your chakra, so it limits the amount of jutsu that you can do and will make you tired quicker. Second, and even more important, it takes a great deal of concentration to keep the chakra wrapped around yourself. Doing it when you need to soften a blow is a good skill to have, but you will end up at a disadvantage if you spend some much of your energy on maintaining it. It leaves you open to too many attacks." Kakashi said, and the training resumed.

Sakura managed to get the technique down first, but Naruto wasn't far behind her due to his already extensive training on chakra control. The pink haired kunoichi just seemed to have an innate ability to manipulate her own chakra. All of them could tell that Sasuke was getting incredibly frustrated.

"Sasuke, calm down. You need to be level headed or none of this is going to sink in." Kakashi said, hoping that he would be able to get through to the raven before he started taking it out on his teammates. Unfortunately, his kind words only seemed to incense Sasuke further.

"Why should I calm down? I'm obviously not as skilled as these guys, so what am I even doing here?" He exasperatedly asked. Naruto approached and settled a hand on the ravens shoulder, fully expecting it to shook off, but he appeared not to notice.

"Listen to me Sasuke. I'll agree that Sakura has some freakily weird ability to manipulate her chakra, but I've had to work very hard to get the level of control that I have now. I know that it doesn't seem like it because you're only seeing the end result, but remember that I have a mentor who has been teaching me for awhile now. I have worked very hard on my chakra control. Trust me when I say that you are getting this down a lot quicker than I did." Naruto said with a small smile at the end. Sasuke looked about ready to argue and rant, but he merely sighed.

"All right, I'll believe you dobe. It's just frustrating because I feel like this team's weakest link." Sasuke said, and Naruto sympathized. He knew that if he wasn't getting special training, he would be the weakest link.

"Let's get back to training! Show me that Uchiha genuis, mister prodigy!" Naruto teased, referring to the fact that Sasuke had been labelled a prodigy while in the academy due to his rapid advancement. To Naruto's relief, the brooding boy smirked and signalled for Naruto to punch him. Naruto didn't hit him too hard, but he did put enough force behind it to be effective. Surprisingly, when he connected with Sasuke's gut, his hand slipped on something that seemed like a second layer to Sasuke's skin. It wasn't complete, but it was more than the raven had been able to do before, so it was progress. The rest of the day progressed, and Sasuke was finally able to get the skill down. Kakashi told them to keep working on it as the more they practiced it, the easier it would be to use it when they really needed it.

"You three have shown remarkable progress these past few days. I couldn't ask for better pupils. Take tomorrow off from training and celebrate. Too much training with no breaks can wear you down and do the opposite of what you want." Kakashi said and the three genin grinned in joy, relishing the fact that they would be able to relax for the first time since the fight with Zabuza.

They all left to go their seperate ways, intending to start their relaxation a little early. By the time dinner rolled around, they were all happily stress free for the moment. They knew that they needed to help out on the bridge in the morning, but after that, they were free for the rest of the day. It wasn't too much longer after dinner that they all turned in for the night.

Naruto woke up out of a soundless sleep a couple of hours before everyone usually got up. He tried to get back to sleep, knowing that it was important that he got his sleep, but it was useless. He decided to go outside for some fresh air. When he walked out of the front door, he was unsurprised to see a thick layer of fog clinging to everything. It was a bit cold, so to stay warm, Naruto started moving. He ended up making it to a clearing in the forest with a beautiful carpet of flowers. To his surprise, he wasn't alone. There was a boy in a pink kimono there collecting some of the flowers. Naruto was about to leave the boy to it, not wanting to intrude, but the stranger happened to glance up right at Naruto. The blond took a look at the boys' face and was struck by how pretty the boy looked.

"Hello. What brings you here this early in the morning?" The stranger asked in a friendly tone.

"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to come out here for some fresh air. How about you?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I'm here to pick some flowers. Someone who is very close to me is about to go to battle, and I wanted to get them something for luck. Do you have anyone special? Anyone that you would put your life on the line for? I've found that when you have someone to fight for, you can really become strong." The boy said.

"Yeah, I've got important people... I'd do anything for them." Naruto said, thinking of Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, the Sandaime, and most of all Kiba. He would gladly die for any one of them if it kept them out of danger.

"That's good. Well, I've collected what I wanted, so I'll be going now. Maybe I'll see you again later." The boy said. It wasn't until he was gone that Naruto realized he had never gotten the name of the boy. Naruto shrugged it off and was about to move on, but he chance a glance down at the flowers. Overcome by a curiousity, he decided to bend down and smell one. It was faintly perfumed and smelled quite pleasant. Naruto felt his eyelids begin to droop and was powerless to stop it.

Meanwhile, the other members of Squad 7 were all beginning to wake up.

"Hey, where's Naruto? It isn't like him to be up this early." Sakura said, frowning. Kakashi felt the beginnings of a worry gnaw at his conscious, but he decided that it wasn't a good idea to get worked up over something when he didn't have all of the information.

"Maybe he got up early and went to the bridge to get a head start on the work for today. I know how all of you are looking forward to being done." Kakashi said optimistically, though he could tell that the words didn't exactly ring true.

They all got ready to go and roused Tazuna so that they could get a move on. It quickly became apparent when they got to the bridge that Naruto wadn't there however. Kakashi was now in a panic.

"Something must have happened to him. We need to find him now!" The silver haired man said in alarm. They didn't even make it two feet before an ominous laughter echoed through the thickening fog. The voice was familiar in an unpleasant way.

"You aren't going anywhere. You and I have some unfinished business Kakashi." The disembodied voice of Zabuza rang out.

"well, it looks like my theory was correct. Do you really wat to do this Zabuza? It didn't exactly work out well for you last time." Kakshi said, adopting a false bravado in hopes of shaking the rogue ninjas resolve, but it was in vain. Once again, the sickening laughter echoed around them, seeming to have no source.

"You got some lucky hits in last time I'll admit. However, you also revealed your weakness. Thigs won't be so easy for you this time." Zbuza said cryptically. The mist cleared slightly and Squad 7 was faced with Zabuza and the masked ninja from before.

"Looks like the two of you are pretty chummy. I take it this isn't the first time that you've pulled this stunt?" Sasuke said.

"Zabuza, let me take care of them." The boy requested. The ninja in question looked askance at the masked figure contemplatively.

"Itching for a fight, are ya Haku? All right, have fun." He said with mirth in his voice.

"I'll handle him. You worry about Zabuza Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said, and though Kakashi had a bad feeling about all of this, he knew that if he were the one to engage the kid in a battle, there would be no one standing in the way of Zabuza and the bridge builder. Sasuke and Sakura were no match for the rogue jonin.

It was at this time that another group of ninja showed up. Sasuke and Sakura were briefly concerned, thinking that Zabuza had brought more people, but it quickly turned out to be allies in the form of Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Kurenai.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kakashi asked, keeping his eye on Zabuza, long ago having lifted the headband covering his left eye.

"The Hokage feared that you were in over your head, and it looks like he was right. We're here to help." Kurenai answered, squinting her eyes through the thick mist. Kakashi took notice of this and assessed the situation.

"Wait a minute, where's Naruto?" Kiba asked, somewhat surprising Kakashi. As far as he knew, Kiba still didn't know the blond existed. Apparently, that wasn't the case any longer.

"We aren't sure. Maybe these two would care to enlighten us?" Kakashi said, indicating the duo they were facing.

"Hehehe, you don't think you're gonna get any information out of us for free, do ya? Haku, go." Zabuza said. Sasuke was going to start attacking, but Kiba stood in front of him with Akamaru on his head, fur bristling and a quiet growl emanating from his throat. Surprisingly, even though the puppy was so small, it didn't do much to lessen the intimidation.

"You need to protect the bridge builder. Kurenai-sensei, take Shino and Hinata and alert the village. I can smell many other people on these two, and because the others aren't here, that means they're probably heading for the village. We need people there to protect them. See if you can find Naruto as well." Kiba said, and Kurenai nodded. She motioned for the other two to follow, and they did so. Hinata gave Kiba a worried glance, afraid that her teammate and friend was going to get hurt, but Kiba waved her on.

All of a sudden, multiple clones of Zabuza appeared in a ring around the group and Kiba didn't even bat an eyelid. He kew that the real one wasn't in their midst. None of them smelled like anythig other than water. Sasuke was quick to disperse them before he took his positon between the enemy and Tazuna, vowing to protect the bridge builder with his life.

"Impressive. Even though they are 1/10th of the original's strength, you took them all down. It'll be interesting to fight you." Haku said, looking around Kiba to Sasuke. Kiba calmly walked into Haku's line of vision.

"You'll have to go through me first." He said while grabbing two small pills out of a pouch at his side. He popped one in his mouth and the other he tossed to Akamaru. The both broke the shell of the pill and almost immediately there was a transformation taking place. Kiba's hair grew and became much shaggier, his nails lengthened into deadly sharp claws, his teeth elongated slightly, his eyes took on a more feral appearance, and he dropped onto the ground on all fours, like a dog would. Akamaru's fur also lengthened and grew a dark red color and his growl deepened menacingly. Kib made a few quick hand signs and placed hsi hand on top of Akamaru's head and pushed a bit of his chakra into the nindog. There was a poof of smoke and when it cleared, where Akamaru was, there was another image of Kiba.

"Man Beast Clone! Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba said, running towards Haku, who for his part, grabbed a few needles and threw them. Kiba easily dodgeed and then the two clashed. Kiba tried unsuccessfully to claw at Haku's chest, but he was blocked. Haku countered by sending a punch to Kiba's head, but was blocked and then he sent a kick which connected to Kiba's stomach. He was sent backwards several feet and Akamaru started attacking while Kiba steadied himself, managing to draw blood by slicing into Haku's hand. Haku sent Akamaru backwards with another punishing kick. The three ninja connected a few more times with Haku seeming to get the upper hand steadily as Kiba and Akamaru tried many different attacks to try to get through the masked ninja's defenses.

"All right, I guess we've got no choice. Akamaru, with me! Fang Over Fang!" Kiba said, and both him and his replica got into the stance. Their bodies coiled and released in tandem, spinning around one another and racing towards Haku.. They managed to drive into Haku's side due to their speed, but the blow was a glancing one. It sent Haku spinning to the ground at Zabuza's fet, but it didn't do any lasting harm.

"Enough playing around Haku. End this." He said.

"Forgive me master." He said and used a hand sign that Kiba wasn't familiar with. Kakashi could feel the chakra build-up coming from the masked ninja, and everyone could feel how the air suddenly got much colder.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this. I have no desire to kill you, but I have to keep my master safe. For that, you have to die." Haku said and all around Kiba ice panels formed, trapping him in a dome of icy reflections of himself. Haku approached and seemed to melt into the nearest panel. To the ones on the outside, it just looked like he disappeared, but to Kiba, there was a brief flash of light and all of a sudden, he couldn't see himself in the panels anymore. instead, each and every panel held a reflection of Haku.

"The moment you entered this jutsu, your life is forfeit." Haku said and the reflections held up some needles. Before Kiba could tell what was happening, needles were coming from every direction. He was able to dodge a good few of them becuase of his heightened instincts, but there were simply too many to dodge all of them. Kiba letr out an involuntary grunt of pain.

 _'This is bad. How is he able to do this? My Sharingan can't mimic this jutsu...'_ Kakashi thought before the answer hit him.

"Of course. This is a Kekei Genkai!" Kakashi exclaimed and Zabuza laughed fully at the silver's horrifying revelation.

"Yes, Haku is a special boy. I hope that you said your good-byes to that boy because no one ever escapes from Haku's Ice Prison." Zabuza exclaimed. Kakashi made to go towards the ice mirrors, but in a flash, Zabuza was in Kakshi's way..

"Now Kakashi, let's sit back and enjoy the show. Besides, if you leave to help that kid, who's left to protect the bridge builder?" He said sadistically, and Kakashi swore in his thoughts, knowing that the other was right. If they wanted to keep Tazuna alive, he couldn't interfere and leave him defenseless. He trusted Sakura and Sasuke's abilities, even if they were up against most chuunin, but against a jonin, he knew that they had no chance.

He had to hope that Kiba would be okay, for all of their sakes, but especially for Naruto's. If they were to lose the boy, Kakashi could only imagine how Naruto would take it.


End file.
